In recent days, great concern reigned in the Catalan business fabric. Given the bad relations between the president of the CEOE, Antonio Garamendi, and that of Foment, Josep Sánchez Llibre, it was feared that a rupture between the two would end up occurring, which would greatly complicate the relationship between the employers. It has finally been avoided. The intense negotiations carried out by the Catalan business establishment have helped the two protagonists to agree on a pragmatic way out for the interests of both. An exit that was forged in the meeting that the two held on Tuesday and that sources close to Foment describe as "cordial".
In this way, yesterday, in the composition of his new team, Garamendi kept Sánchez Llibre as vice president, although accompanying him with two variations. On the one hand, the president of Foment stops dealing with relations with the Cortes, which will pass into the hands of Salvador Navarro, of the Valencian CEV. And also, the first vice presidency is created, which falls to Miguel Garrido, president of the Madrid employers' association (CEIM), who goes up one step in the hierarchy, and is positioned as virtual number two. Garrido was considered one of the critics of Garamendi's management, but it was also notorious how, since the Basque presented his candidacy, both Garrido and the CEIM gave him unwavering support. Garrido distanced himself from the critics at that time, and made it clear that he was not going to participate in the search for an alternative candidate, and now he has become the first vice president.
In any case, faithful to this reunion agenda, from Foment his participation in the new CEOE board is positively valued and Sánchez Llibre has thanked "the generosity of the president of the CEOE", adding that "we feel satisfied with the role that we can play... and that today the CEOE comes out stronger and more cohesive”. During yesterday's meeting, Sánchez Llibre and Garamendi made an effort to stage a good harmony, both in gestures and in their interventions.
In addition, Foment highlights that they proposed the entry of two members of their management in the executive committee of the CEOE, and it has been accepted. This is the case of Baldiri Ros (Sant Isidre Catalan Agricultural Institute) and Santiago García-Nieto (ConfeCat). Garamendi has also appointed José María Rodríguez (Asedas), who is also a member of Foment's executive committee, to his new executive committee. In this way, there are four members of the management of the Catalan employers present in the nucleus of the CEOE, in addition to business representatives such as Francisco Belil and Juan Gaspart. In total, there are six Catalans on the executive committee, three proposed by Foment and three by Garamendi.
The agreement between Garamendi and Sánchez Llibre comes after the president of the CEOE emerged stronger from the elections in November, by adding more than 80% of the votes against the candidate promoted by Foment, Virginia Guinda. Upon learning of the results of the elections, Garamendi declared that "there is no one left over here", but he did not want to specify anything else until yesterday, when he presented his new team to the Board of Directors.
