Pedro Sánchez has resumed with the mini-crisis of the Government this end of the year – planned for weeks to replace the vacancy left by Nadia Calviño, new president of the European Investment Bank (EIB) – an old tradition that only occurred in the years gold of bipartisanship. For the first time in more than 20 years, the number two of the Executive will at the same time be the number two of the party that holds the presidency of the Government. Because Calviño is replaced in the portfolio by Carlos Cuerpo, but this change is accompanied by the promotion of María Jesús Montero, deputy general secretary of the PSOE and Minister of Finance, to the first vice presidency of the Government. Montero will thus be Sánchez's left and right hand.
An exceptional accumulation of power with which the socialist leader further reinforces the political and party profile of the Executive and for which there were only two precedents in Spanish politics: Alfonso Guerra with Felipe González in the eighties and Francisco Álvarez-Cascos with José María Aznar at the end of the nineties. “Our economic achievements and the reinforcement of the welfare state would not have been possible without the intense and brilliant work of Montero since June 2018,” Sánchez praised her after communicating the express government remodeling to Felipe VI. Alberto Núñez Feijóo criticized him for “confusing Government and party”, and the PP stated that this election shows that Sánchez has opted for a “trench” Government in which the main objective is to clash with the opposition.
Félix Bolaños was the member who emerged most strengthened from the composition of the cabinet that Sánchez put together on November 20, four days after his inauguration. His status as superminister of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Courts turned him in practice into a kind of shadow vice president. But the president already recognized Montero then, adding to her stripes those of fourth vice president; and also to Pilar Alegría, to whose responsibility as Minister of Education she incorporated Sports and the Government spokesperson. Sánchez then gave a glimpse of his plans: the proof of the long view with which he awaited Calviño's appointment to the EIB was the instrumental creation of a fourth vice presidency whose duration has not reached 40 days and which has served as a springboard for Montero to rise. to first vice president.
“It is a gift that no one ever expects to receive and that must be interpreted as a motivation and as a stimulus, as an encouragement to continue working for this country project that we have been building for five years,” thanked Montero. The deputy secretary general of the PSOE will be, among her many facets, the one who presides over the Council of Ministers when the president is on a foreign tour, something very common. Granting such power to Yolanda Díaz, second vice president and leader of Sumar, was not an option for Ferraz and La Moncloa. However, in the Government no one doubts that Montero's relationship with the coalition's minority partner will be better than the one Calviño had with the Minister of Labor, with whom he has had notable disagreements. Díaz congratulated Montero and Corpus “for their new responsibilities” and was “convinced” that the PSOE and Sumar will continue “working conscientiously to achieve social justice” and “continue defending workers.”
The resignation of Adriana Lastra in July 2022 as deputy general secretary of the PSOE for personal reasons accelerated Montero's rise up the socialist ladder, who until then had poured his energy into the Ministry of Finance. Montero is part of the select group of six veteran ministers of Sánchez's first Government in 2018: the outgoing Calviño (Economy), Teresa Ribera (Ecological Transition), Margarita Robles (Defense), Fernando Grande-Marlaska (Interior) and Luis Planas (Agriculture). ). The first two rose to the rank of vice presidents in the coalition with Unidas Podemos. Montero's turn has come in the reissue of the progressive PSOE Government with Sumar. Calviño celebrated Montero's promotion as “a great success,” to whom he handed over the first vice presidency portfolio. His endorsement was incontestable: “she is my twin, my sister, and together we have managed economic policy that will remain in the history books.”
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Montero not only increases his functions and will coordinate the Government's economic policy. The “vice double,” as some call her, has stood out for her conversational style, but she also does not shy away from clashes when the occasion requires it. The last time he took out his fang was 10 days ago, when a PP senator called groupies to the vice presidents. The following day the Association of Parliamentary Journalists (APP) gave him the award of Scourge of the Opposition. Her ability has been tested in short distances with the press and in relationships with the constellation of Government partners. He was part of the Executive's negotiating team with the parliamentary groups for Sánchez's investiture, but he did not appear in the most delicate photographs – with the spokespersons for Junts and EH Bildu – and he did appear in the signing of the pacts with Ana Pontón (BNG) and Cristina Valido (Canarian Coalition).
The vice president will have her first big test in the approval of the 2024 Budgets, which are already late. Montero hopes to get them ahead in the first quarter, which would give the Government a boost of oxygen that is worth at least half a term. Fiscal consolidation is another of the Executive's mantras just when Brussels' flexibility declines: the 3% deficit target is within reach, but another story is the public debt, which, even if it is reduced to 106% of GDP, continues light years away from the objectives dictated by Europe (60%).
The reform of the regional financing system, pending since 2014, seems much more complicated. To begin with, because the PP presides over 11 communities and Feijóo prefers to delegate to his territorial barons, who maintain very different positions, instead of seeking a common position. “It seems that this Government is designed exclusively for the voters of one party,” the PP leader criticized this Friday in an interview on Servimedia. “The Government must be the Government of all. When you confuse the Government and the party, the party and the Government, you are sending a message to society: here there will be a lot of partisanship, few general interests and a lot of ideological approach,” he added.
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