Everything was negotiated but it ended up being frustrated. Asval (the homeowners association), the main 'lobby' of the large housing funds and different associations in the sector, and which brings together both large owners, such as Blackstone and Ares, and small holders, had been looking for a long time substitute for Joan Clos. The former mayor of Barcelona led the employers' conversations with the Government during the tortuous processing of the Housing Law. He approached José Luis Ábalos and Raquel Sánchez and Asval partially achieved his objectives. He decided it was time to leave.
The association already had a replacement: Isabel Pardo de Vera. The former Secretary of State for Transport resigned in February after the problem with the CAF trains for Asturias and Cantabria that did not fit through the tunnels. She was also president of Adif. The president of Renfe, Isaías Táboas, also resigned due to the problem of the height of the machines. Ten months later, Pardo de Vera had already agreed to incorporate her into the private sector.
The Galician had agreed on her working and salary conditions, business sources explain. She had also held meetings with associated companies. Everything was closed with the private sector, they say. What's more, Asval's leadership was going to confirm her appointment next week. The only thing missing was the approval of the Conflict of Interest Office, dependent on the Ministry of Finance, an endorsement that has been decisive in frustrating the signing, which was announced in El Confidencial.
Sources close to the negotiation explain that the Government department in charge of authorizing these transfers to the public sector could have caused problems in giving approval for it. Pardo de Vera worked until ten months ago in the ministry responsible for housing policies and had responsibilities for the current Secretary of State and Director General of Housing, David Lucas and Javier Martín. Both today are part of the Ministry of Housing.
Sources close to Isabel Pardo de Vera assure, for their part, that the former Secretary of State “will not occupy the position” of president of Asval. “She would not even consider accessing that position without having the endorsement of the incompatibilities office and the approval of the Government,” she added. The discomfort that arose this Friday in the Executive with the possibility that Pardo de Vera would end up joining this association has also had an influence. “During the last few months, she has transferred all the proposals that she receives first to the Incompatibilities office, to then make a decision on the matter,” she concludes her entourage.
Asval is now left without a visible face to defend its interests in a legislature that is expected to be intense in housing matters. The association will start a new search.
