Jose Luis Escrivá I knew for months that I would be governor of the Bank of Spain, replacing Pablo Hernandez de Cos. Actually, Pedro Sanchez Not only did he discuss it with him at that time, but in November 2023 he designed his role within the government to facilitate his replacement and transition to banking supervisor.
Escriva went from being Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration in the previous legislature to Minister of Integration. Digital transformationa portfolio of new creation who, in fact, had previously been Secretary of State in the Economic Vice-Presidency of Nadia Calvino.
This gave rise to speculation about Escrivá’s disgrace as he lost weight in the government and about the opposite, that is, that in reality, Calviño’s arrival in power was a step towards taking responsibility for the economy. European Investment Bank.
Escrivá already knew that Sánchez was reserving the post of governor of the Bank of Spainthe first in democratic history to go directly from the tableThe Council of Ministers at the head of the supervisory body, subject to conditions of independence and neutrality.
Calviño is gone, Maria Jesus Montero She was promoted to first vice president and Escriva added the public service competence to her portfolio. That is, there was a newly created ministry that added two secretaries of state who “fell” from the Economy and the Treasury due to the changes of vice presidents.
Escriva looked for a way to provide him with content during these months, always keeping in mind that his destiny would be Bank of Spain. With some tangles like his proposal on the limits of pornography on the Internet which has aroused controversy and many doubts, without knowing what his exact situation is currently.
Within the Government, his interventions in the Council of Ministers during the pandemic were highly appreciated, with his presentations on his specialty: data analysis and projection. For example, He showed off his iPad graphics on the evolution of infections and deaths or models to determine when vaccination against Covid would end.
His personal relationships within the government have always been few and far between, and with the reluctance of some of the more political. A golf player, an activity he sometimes indulges in Oscar BridgeMinister of Transport.
Government sources yesterday cast doubt on if the ministry disappears to re-enter the Economy and the Treasury or, as seems more likely, a new minister is appointed to replace him. In any case, The major renovation is expected at the end of Novemberbecause on December 1st Therese Ribera He will already be in the European Commission and Sánchez could then seek to give impetus to the government and the party that will hold its federal congress on those dates.
Official sources have not provided any information and have not even confirmed Escrivá’s appointment, which will be made official today in Congress.
In recent months, the possibility of Escrivá becoming governor of the Bank of Spain has been discussed within the government, but some ministers have explained privately that it is more of a wish or request on his part than a future reality.
“The appointment of Escrivá is a personal decision of the President of the Government“, sources from Sánchez’s team now explain.
Rejection of the PP
To make this appointment, Moncloa had to contact the PP, since it is the exclusive power of the President of the Government, but there is always an agreement with the opposition to appoint the vice-governor. This is how it has always been done.
On this occasion, he did not do so until the General Council of the Judiciary gave its approval last June. The Government informed the PP that its only candidate was Escrivá.
From the beginning, the PP expressed its rejection on the grounds that it does not guarantee the appearance of neutrality that the position requires and, moreover, it is contrary to the spirit of the signed pact on Justice that limits this type of “revolving doors” of the Government to jurisdictional activity.
This spirit would have prevented similar appointments like that of Dolores Delgado who rose from minister to attorney general of the state or to that of Juan Carlos Campo from minister to constitutional magistrate, with a brief intermediary stay at the National Court.
Popular sources assure that in fact they believed it was a negotiating position to then be able to reach a consensus on another name, less “committed”. In fact, the government then disclosed the name and reinforced the impression of the PP negotiators.
But the government did not move and showed no intention of doing so, because Escrivá’s appointment had already been decided for a long time.
The PP then assumed that Sanchez had no intention of reaching an agreement. That, probably, he wanted to avoid criticism from his partners after the agreement on the CGPJ and that the Escriva case was more than closed.
Until 2030
Now the most popular ones have doubts about what will happen with other appointments pending such as the National Securities Market Commission or the National Energy Commission, among others.
The term of office of the Governor of the Bank of Spain is six years, without the possibility of dismissal or renewal. That is to say, Escriva will stop in 2030In any case, his mandate will extend over a large part of the next legislature.
Moncloa will explain today that he has extensive training and experience, having worked at the Bank of Spain and institutions such as the BBVA research department. Mariano Rajoy He proposed him as president of AIREF and that proves his independence. That the PP proposed the former minister Luis de Guindos as vice-president of the European Central Bank, moving from the government to this European institution. That he is not a member of the PSOE. Or that it is common in Europe to move from governments to central banks. This is what it will look like the government’s basic argument.
