Pedro Sánchez has configured an unprecedented economic area in the coalition Government. Never before has the head of the Ministry of Finance had more weight in the Council of Ministers than the head of the Ministry of Economy, without both departments being integrated. But it is what the president has decided: María Jesús Montero, the stoker of the Budgets and the guardian of public spending, will be first vice president, the coordinator of economic policy and, also, number two of the PSOE. Carlos Body, for his part, will be a rank minister. No head of the Executive, neither socialist nor PP, had made this decision.
Not even the five PSOE Economy Ministers who preceded Nadia Calviño (Elena Salgado, Pedro Solbes, Carlos Solchaga and Miguel Boyer); Not even the three from the PP (Román Escolano, Luis de Guindos and Rodrigo Rato) had their Treasury counterparts above them, in terms of government responsibilities. Montero will take the reins of the renewed economic area in a continuing stage where the coalition will have to deal with the economic slowdown anticipated by both the Government and national and international organizations.
Sánchez has decided, however, that the presidency of the General Delegate Commission for Economic Affairs (CDGAE) will remain in the Economy and not pass to the Treasury. This body is the anteroom of the Council of Ministers in everything related to the economy and all departments with financial responsibilities participate in it. Calviño has chaired it for the last five and a half years and now that responsibility will fall to Corps.
Carlos Body is a commercial technician and State economist, the so-called “tecos”, senior officials of the State administration who occupy the Ministry of Economy. His training is key for this new stage and for the aforementioned presidency of the CDGAE.
Sánchez’s decision for the new Ministry of Digital Transition to assume Public Service tasks is also unprecedented. The management of everything related to public workers has belonged to the Treasury since July 2021. Before, it depended on the Ministry of Territorial Policy, for example, during the time in the Government of Meritxell Batet. Now José Luis Escrivá will be in charge of negotiating with officials and, according to Sánchez, of “taking advantage of digitalization to improve the quality of public services.”
In addition to the First Vice Presidency and the Ministry of Economy, the economic area of ??the Government is completed with the Department of Economic Affairs of the Presidency of the Government, directed by Manuel de la Rocha, who was promoted a few weeks ago to Secretary of State.
