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 candidate Eines de País-Un Pas Més, led by Mònica Roca and Toni Fitó.
They say the establishment has regained control of the House.
Absolutely. Our candidacy represents much more. There are people who come from large, recently created companies, 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 unions and all types 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 and radio, as Eines de País has done even on voting days. Our bet has been to reach businessmen like an oil spill explaining our option. Which is not a confrontation option, but a project option. We want a better, different Chamber, more representative of the entire business fabric and that is what has been voted on. We have had little time, because we started as a candidate very late, they put us to work in the month of May and with August in the middle. But with four months miscounted, we have managed to get our proposal valued. Which is not easy because I believe that we have an original sin in the world of chambers, which is the great lack of knowledge that the entire economic fabric of the Chamber's role has. Most companies and self-employed workers do not even know that they are members of the Chamber. They don't know they have the right to vote. They also don't know much about what it's for. Therefore, mobilizing votes is very difficult. A candidate who is not in a position of power has a very big starting disadvantage. But we have overcome 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 at that time considered anything strange. I mean that the votes are not the important thing, the important thing is the chairs, right? They are the electoral rules.
Are you sure you will win the presidency?
I don't take anything for granted. What I assume is that we have 26 seats and then there are five independents and six from the employers' associations pending to vote. And I am convinced that we will have the majority of these 11 votes, if not all of them. It's a question of arithmetic.
Do you trust the vote of the five independents?
Yes, because we have spoken with them. In the six seats that have contested as independents, including Bon Preu, who ultimately did not come out, we have not run for any of them because we considered that they were excellent candidates and we did not want to challenge them for their place. We have even withdrawn, and have recommended all our voters to vote for these six independents.
Eines says that he does not give up anything for lost and that he will try to make a pact.
Personally, I think the best thing we can do is turn the page now and start preparing for the replacement and thinking about the next day. We want to take advantage of the capabilities of the plenary members and we will listen to all voices.
Did you expect such a large victory?
No, we thought we would win but with a closer result, there was uncertainty given the enormous campaign they have done. Our strategy has consisted of personal calls. I personally have gotten 1,200 votes this way and others have done it too.
What do you plan to change in the Chamber?
What we have to do is for everyone to finally see the Chamber as a place that does not belong to one party but belongs to the whole world. Our candidacy has large and small businessmen and of all colors because no one has asked anyone their ideology or who they vote for. We have people who are publicly positioned in the world of independence, people positioned at the other extreme and people who define themselves as federalists. And for most of them I couldn't say what they are. This is not about who is pro-independence and who is not, but rather about who best represents the Catalan business community.
Do you intend to call a competition to recruit two large companies to pay and 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 has been willing to contribute an amount to be represented in the highest governing body of representation of the businessman. Catalan that is 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 line. They (Eines) made the decision to reduce positions by appealing to democracy and now we have found that they have kicked out large companies and we have to invite them back. How will we do it? Well we have to study it. Right now I don't know legally how we can do it. What is clear is that we will find a way for the large 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 getting the best camera in the world. We want that within four years everyone feels proud of this institution.
Will you keep the building project in 22@?
When I was in the Cambra during the time of Miquel Valls it seemed like it was a very good bet because it was going in the direction that the city wanted with 22@. Now it has to be analyzed again.
And will he have a more relevant position in the Spanish Chamber again?
We have to be there actively and waiting to receive what corresponds to us because of our importance. The Chamber of Barcelona is the largest in Spain, with almost 500,000 voters, larger than that of Madrid. And it is not normal that he does not have a relevant position in the highest government body of the State chambers.
Are you worried about the economic situation you will find?
No. I was worried about the trend and I fear that this year's results will be very bad. But the people who are in this candidacy have managed crisis situations and we know how to turn things around. I also want to say that we will have a business vision of the Chamber but with a social and environmental sensitivity.
