Josep Santacreu, former CEO of the insurance company DKV, has won the elections to the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and is convinced that he will have the necessary support to assume the presidency soon. His list, Va d’Empresa, has prevailed over the pro-independence candidacy Eines de País-Un Pas Més, led by Mònica Roca and Toni Fitó.
They say that the establishment has regained control of the Chamber.
Absolutely not. Our candidacy represents much more. There are people who come from large companies, recently created, of which they are even founders, and there are also traditional companies. But the vast majority are SMEs and self-employed, from a taxi driver to a baker. Our big difference is the high participation we have had from guilds and all kinds of business associations, this is the strength of our team.
They have run a very silent campaign.
Yes, it has been quiet work. We have not made advertisements on television or radio, as Eines de País has done even on voting days. Our bet has been to reach employers like an oil stain by explaining our option. That it is not a confrontation option, but a project option. We want a better Chamber, different, more representative of the entire business fabric, and this is what was voted for. We had little time, because we started as a candidate very late, we started working in May and with August in between. But with a miscalculated four months we managed to get our proposal evaluated, which is not easy, because I think we have an original sin in the world of chambers, which is the great ignorance of the economic fabric as a whole of the role of the chamber Most of the companies and self-employed do not even know that they are members of the Chamber. They don’t know they have the right to vote. They don’t really know what it’s for either. Therefore, mobilizing votes is very difficult. A candidate who is not in a position of power has a very large starting disadvantage. But we got over it.
President Mònica Roca says that Eines has won in votes.
We can start doing the sums we want. Four years ago the sum of Crous and Tusquets was many more votes than Eines de País and no one thought of anything strange at that time. I mean the votes aren’t the important thing, the chairs are the important thing, aren’t they? They are the electoral rules.
Are you sure he will get the presidency?
I don’t take anything for granted. What I take for granted is that we have 26 seats and then there are pending votes for five independents and six from employers. And I am convinced that we will have the majority of these 11 votes, if not all. It’s a matter of arithmetic.
Do you trust the vote of the five independents?
Yes, because we talked about it. In the six chairs that have been contested as independents, including Bon Preu, who ultimately did not come out, we did not run for any of them because we considered them to be excellent candidates and we did not want to challenge them for the position. We have even withdrawn from it, and have recommended all our voters to vote for these six independents.
Tools says he doesn’t give anything up and will try to make a deal.
Personally, I think the best thing we can do is turn a page, start preparing for the relay and think about the next day. We want to make the most of the capacities of the members of the plenary and we will listen to all voices.
Did you expect such a wide victory?
No, we thought we would win, but with a closer result, there was uncertainty because of the huge campaign they have had. Our strategy has consisted of personal calls. I, personally, have obtained 1,200 votes this way and others have also done so.
What do you plan to change in the House?
What we need to do is for everyone to finally see the Chamber as a place that does not belong to one party, but belongs to everyone. Our candidacy has entrepreneurs big and small, and of all colors, because no one has asked anyone their ideology or who they vote for. We have people who are publicly in favor of the world of independence, people at the other end and people in the middle, people who call themselves federalists. And most of them I couldn’t say what they are. This is not about who is pro-independence and who is not, but about who best represents Catalan business.
Do you intend to call a competition to bring in two large paying companies to fill the two vacant seats?
One of the signs that things were not going well and that a change was needed in the Chamber is that for the first time in history no company in this country has been willing to contribute an amount to be represented in the highest governing body representing the Catalan businessman, the Chamber of Barcelona. For the first time in history not even two chairs have been covered, when there were 14 here and there was a queue. They (Eines) took the option to reduce the positions by appealing to democracy and now we have found that they have outlawed the big companies and we have to invite them back to be there. How will we do it? Well, we have to see. Right now I don’t know legally how we can do that. What is clear is that we will look for a way for the big companies of this country to also be in the Chamber.
And in terms of management, what changes do you propose?
We will make a strategic plan with the challenge of making the best chamber in the world. We want everyone to be proud of this institution four years from now. So we will be very ambitious. We don’t come here to fill a chair and play, everyone has very busy lives and is here to serve and to do a project that transcends. We do it more with our grandchildren in mind than next year.
Will he keep the building project at 22@?
When I was in the Chamber during the time of Miquel Valls, it seemed to be a very good bet, because it was going the way the city wanted with the 22@. It must now be re-analysed in the new context of telework and the acceleration of digitalisation.
And will he have a more relevant position in the Chamber of Spain?
We must be there actively, and we must be there waiting to receive what is due to us for our importance. The Chamber of Barcelona is the largest in Spain, with almost 500,000 voters in the census, larger even than that of Madrid. And it is not normal that he does not have a relevant position in the highest governing body of the chambers of the State. In fact, I have already spoken to the president of the Chamber of Spain (José Luis Bonet) and we said we should meet soon to start working.
Are you worried about the economic situation you will find yourself in?
No. I was worried about the trend it was leading and I am afraid that the results this year will be very bad. But the people of this candidacy have managed crisis situations and know how to change things. I also want to say that we will have a business vision of the Chamber, but with a social and environmental sensitivity.
