Nobody in the Moncloa or in Ferraz presumes that the Government crisis that Pedro Sánchez will carry out today, to resolve the departure of Nadia Calviño – all-powerful first vice president and Minister of Economy, who will now assume the presidency of the European Investment Bank (EIB) –, It is going to be as far-reaching as the one he carried out in July 2021. But government sources warn that, in these situations, Sánchez always enjoys exercising his exclusive prerogative with some surprise that no one can foresee: “He never disappoints,” they warn.
The internal pools in the Government and the PSOE are fuming, as usual, despite the fact that Sánchez already has plenty of experience in keeping secrets kept under seven keys. The president, already returned from his trip to Iraq, will announce at 9 a.m. this Friday morning the new appointments, in an appearance at the Moncloa. And the entire process will be resolved quickly, since today they will be published in the digital edition of the BOE, and then they will take office.
In that great earthquake of July 2021, and with the argument of “recharging the batteries” to face a different phase of his mandate once the coronavirus pandemic was over, Sánchez surprised his two political heavyweights and “firewalls” in the Executive, such as to date the first vice president Carmen Calvo, backbone and coordinator of the entire Cabinet, replaced as head of the Presidency by Félix Bolaños; and the head of Transport – and secretary of organization of the PSOE –, José Luis Ábalos, relieved in this portfolio by Raquel Sánchez.
Sánchez's chief of staff, Iván Redondo, was also fired, replaced by Óscar López. And Arancha González Laya in Foreign Affairs – replaced by José Manuel Albares –, Juan Carlos Campo in Justice – Pilar Llop assumed this portfolio –, Isabel Celáa – replaced by Isabel Rodríguez as Government spokesperson and by Pilar Alegría as Minister of Education – were dismissed. José Manuel Uribes in Culture – who passed the baton to Miquel Iceta, who in turn transferred the Territorial Policy portfolio to Isabel Rodríguez –, and Pedro Duque in Science – relieved by Diana Morant–.
At Moncloa, Sánchez is not expected to carry out such a profound remodeling of the Government today. Firstly, because the members of the current Council of Ministers took office a little over a month ago, on November 21.
However, the simple replacement in the Executive of Nadia Calviño (A Coruña, 1968) will be very relevant, since this State economist and senior official in the European institutions – daughter of José María Calviño, whom Felipe González appointed general director of RTVE in 1982 – has taken the reins of Spain's economic policy since Sánchez arrived at Moncloa in June 2018, after winning the motion of censure that overthrew Mariano Rajoy.
Since then, five and a half years ago, Calviño has been climbing positions in the Government, first as third vice president, then second and finally first, replacing Carmen Calvo. Her figure was always a guarantee of compliance with European economic orthodoxy, in the face of the misgivings that the PSOE government coalition could provoke, with Unidas Podemos in the last legislature and with Sumar in the current one.
With this strong role, and being at the head of the Government's Delegate Commission for Economic Affairs, Calviño's differences were public and notorious with the minority partner of the coalition, and especially with the second vice president and Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz. The leader of Sumar, however, said goodbye yesterday with affection: “I will miss her and, furthermore, I wish her the best of luck.”
Sánchez himself promoted a more political profile for Calviño, given his ease in replicating the Popular Party in the Government control sessions in Parliament, and even as an electoral asset, despite the fact that he is not a member of the PSOE and always refused to join its electoral lists. “We have Nadia, they have no one,” was one of the slogans that Sánchez repeated in the last electoral campaign, to highlight the absence of an economic program that he attributed to Alberto Núñez Feijóo's project.
Regarding the replacement that Sánchez will announce today, everyone in Moncloa and Ferraz admits to having more speculations than certainties. But in the internal pools the names of both the vice presidents María Jesús Montero and Teresa Ribera and the minister José Luis Escrivá, also of Manuel de la Rocha, stand out, in addition to Gonzalo García, Carlos Cuerpo or Xiana Méndez, along with David Vegara, José Manuel Campa or Ángel Ubide. The last word, as always, goes to Sánchez. Today.
