The PP, forced to find another candidate for the body’s council after forcing the resignation of economist Antonio Cabrales over his support for independence
“In my opinion, the legal regime and the experience as an independent financial and organizational institution of the Bank of Spain can form a good point of reference in the eventual reorganization of other economic regulators in our country that, in some cases, have less autonomy.” With these words, before the Congress of Deputies in 2020, Governor Pablo Hernández de Cos defended the example of autonomy of an institution where technical profiles tend to prevail over any hint of political pressure.
However, the recent expiration of mandates in the institution has fueled suspicions about these pressures in appointing senior positions in an institution that has had its own autonomy law since 1995 to guarantee its independence.
Following the unwritten rule of appointing directors – and which was one of the few agreements so far between Moncloa and PP – the government appointed Judith Arnal, former chief of staff to the Vice President, Nadia Calviño, to replace Carmen Alonso, named after the time also by the PSOE.
The controversy was served by his outspoken party profile. But these days it skyrockets after the adviser promoted by the PP to replace Fernando Eguidazu tendered his resignation just six hours after being appointed.
The decision of Antonio Cabrales, with a recognized professional career and a strong technical profile, comes after the newspaper ‘The Objective’ published that his name had appeared on a list of signatures in support of Clara Ponsati, former education minister at the Generalitat de Catalunya, fled to Brussels with Carles Puigdemont after the illegal referendum on October 1, 2017. An achievement that is at odds with the priorities of the PP, which was unaware of this at the time of Cabrales’s election.
The empty chair thus opens a hole in the institution and breaks with that tradition of pact between the parties by prioritizing political interest over the technical capacity of the designated person. According to this unwritten rule, the executive proposes the governor of the Bank of Spain and the opposition proposes the vice-governor. The six councilors are appointed, three by the ruling party, two by the opposition and another with the so-called Catalan quota.
Economy now trusts the PP to resolve the new appointment “as soon as possible”. But the discomfort is definitely with the blue formation. PSOE sources criticize the opposition’s pressure on Cabrales after learning of his support for independence, despite the economist’s proven professional and technical profile, who allegedly chose not to take part in the political war and his resignation would be speed up.
The sources linked to the lawsuit indicate that there are basically no deadlines for the PP to offer a new name, but they agree with Economy that “they will try to do it quickly”. For his part, the PP’s deputy economy secretary Juan Bravo indicated on Monday that he believes “there will be no problem” in reaching an agreement with the government on Cabrales’ replacement.
In fact, Bravo wanted to thank Cabrales for stepping back when he felt that a situation he took on in a personal capacity can create or arouse tension “as he says.” “It gives him a lot of dignity and as Spaniards we can only thank him,” emphasized the PP’s deputy secretary of economic affairs.
While Bravo has emphasized his “very interesting and adequate” technical profile, he has also acknowledged that he doesn’t know what they would have been up to since formation had they previously known the events that allegedly triggered Cabrales’ resignation. In this sense, he reactivates the political war by criticizing the government’s proposal of Judith Arnal, because it is a person closely associated with the party.
Pending the new appointment, the political battle threatens to cloud public perceptions of the independence the Bank of Spain has earned in recent years. Or at least to avoid the war of parties that exists in other institutions. And that despite the fact that there have been other times when this profile of autonomy has also been called into question (without going any further, Miguel Ángel Fernández Ordóñez was governor between 2006 and 2012, having been part of several socialist governments).
Given this scenario, it wouldn’t be surprising if the current governor, Pablo Hernández de Cos, resumes the 2020 speech in which he already demanded before Congress to give Parliament more weight in the election of administrators. Something that, as he defended at the time, “would lead to a greater public perception of the independence and legitimacy of those responsible, and would have a positive impact on the prestige of the institution, the trust it conveys to the citizens and the good performance of its functions”.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
