The Government has proposed to the PP the name of the current Minister of Digital Transformation and Public Function, José Luis Escrivá, as Governor of the Bank of Spain to replace Pablo Hernández de Cos. Hernández de Cos’ mandate expired at the beginning of June. Escrivá’s proposal has been advanced by ‘El País’ and confirmed by Europa Press in sources familiar with the negotiations.
Escrivá’s candidacy was rejected by the PP. The Government announced on Wednesday that it is continuing to hold talks with the Popular Party to reach an agreement on the appointment of the new governor and deputy governor of the Bank of Spain. The Minister of Economy, Carlos Cuerpo, reiterated this on Thursday, but without confirming whether Escrivá has been proposed by his Executive.
As a result of the opposition of the Popular Party to the appointment of the current Minister of Digital Transformation and Public Service, this Thursday “the appearance” of the Minister of Economy in the relevant committee of the Congress of Deputies will not take place, as had been speculated at the beginning of this week.
The agreement between the PSOE and the PP to renew the General Council of the Judiciary, closed on Tuesday, June 25, paved the way for another pact between the two main parties in our country for the succession in the monetary institution, which could extend to the pending appointments in the National Commission of Markets and Competition (CNMC) and those yet to come in the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV).
“Our vision is to, as far as possible, open the door to collaboration and agreement,” said Minister Cuerpo on Monday. In any case, when asked if joint negotiations were being held with the PP for all vacancies, Cuerpo recalled that each appointment “has its dates and its procedure.”
Although it is an unwritten agreement, it is usual for the renewal of the positions of governor and deputy governor of the Bank of Spain to be agreed between the PSOE and the PP, in such a way that the party in government appoints the governor and the opposition party proposes the deputy governor.
The renewal of the Bank of Spain is the most urgent because after the expiration of Pablo Hernández de Cos’ mandate, the acting governor, Margarita Delgado (until then deputy governor), does not have the right to vote in the decision of the governing council of the ECB on July 18 on whether to cut official interest rates in the eurozone again, or whether to keep them at 4.25%, after the first relief at the beginning of this cycle of monetary austerity for families and companies.
Source: www.eldiario.es