Appointment of a new Governor of the Bank of Spain forces a government crisis

USPA NEWS - Spanish Primer Minister, Pedro Sánchez, has announced the appointment of Óscar López as the new Minister for Digital Transformation and the Civil Service, replacing José Luis Escrivá, who has been appointed Governor of the Bank of Spain. He has also announced that the new Director of the Cabinet of the Presidency of the Government will be Diego Rubio.

The President has highlighted the "political and work capacity" of Óscar López, the new Minister for Digital Transformation and the Civil Service, and his "commitment to the country". López has worked in various public institutions, both national and European, and also in the Government of Spain, "where he has played a key role in public management as Director of the Cabinet of the Presidency of the Government". Sánchez has also described him as "a great promoter of the technological and audiovisual revolution, first from Parliament and then from La Moncloa" palace.

"He is perfectly familiar with public administration at all levels and has extensive experience collaborating with the private sector, so I am convinced that he will be a key and exemplary minister who will know how to serve all Spaniards effectively, honestly and with dedication, promoting the digitalisation of our country and modernising its public function," Sánchez stressed.

Regarding the new governor of the Bank of Spain, José Luis Escrivá, whose appointment the Minister of Economy, Carlos Cuerpo, has already informed the Congress of Deputies, Sánchez said that he is "one of the best economists our country has and one of its greatest experts in monetary policy", who "throughout his long career has been in all the areas that should make up the career of a prestigious economist."

Thus, he recalled that he has been a member and director of two of the main research services in Spain, that of the Bank of Spain and that of BBVA. He has also played a key role in the development of the euro as head of the Monetary Policy Division of the European Central Bank, was director for America of the Bank for International Settlements in Basel and then moved to the national public sector, first as the first president of the Independent Authority for Fiscal Responsibility, under a Popular Party government and then as an independent minister of the Progressive Coalition Government.

The president has highlighted that, as minister, Escrivá "led key reforms for our country: the pension reform and the reconstruction of the Toledo Pact, the creation of the minimum vital income, the reform of the civil service and the drive for digitalization or the management of a migration policy based on the labour and social integration of migrant workers".

"I believe that very few economists have the knowledge, experience and stature of José Luis Escrivá. That is why I am convinced that he will be an excellent governor of the Bank of Spain." "With José Luis Escrivá, the Bank of Spain has a great governor and the Spanish economy has emerged strengthened and prestigious at European and international level," he added.

Finally, Pedro Sánchez has reported that the new director of the cabinet of the Presidency of the Government will be Diego Rubio. From Extremadura region, he has a degree in History from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, ??with the best academic record in the country, obtaining the National Prize for Academic Excellence. He did his postgraduate studies at the Ecole Supérieure de France and a doctorate at the University of Oxford. He is a member of the School of Politics, Economics and Global Affairs of the Instituto de Empresa and an advisor to international organizations such as the United Nations and the European Commission.

In these last five years, Rubio has worked in the cabinet of the Presidency of the Government, first as director of Foresight and Strategy, later as general secretary of Public Policies and European Affairs, collaborating with hundreds of academics, companies and public organisations. "Now he will contribute his integrity, his technical rigor and his transversal vision as director of the Cabinet of the Presidency of the Government to continue preparing Spain for the future to come," said the president.

Sánchez has assured that the Spanish Government is starting this political year "with its batteries charged" and that "Spain is experiencing one of its best moments in recent decades." "Where there was corruption before, there is cleanliness, where there was a territorial crisis, today there is cohesion and unity. And where there was an economic crisis, unemployment, cuts and precariousness before, today there is growth, employment, and dignified work and wages," he stressed.

"We are starting the political year with new ideas, with the best teams and with the same desire as always to carry out the task that the Spanish people deserve and need. The government is optimistic about the present and the future of Spain," he concluded.