The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchezhas been meeting separately in La Moncloa for days with the heads of the main companies in the country to try to reach an approachreestablish a certain trust between the two parties and put an end to the climate of belligerence which was promoted by the Moncloa already on the occasion of the Andalusian elections in June last year and which has been consolidated throughout all this time with various punitive measures against the business world.
According to different sources consulted by OKDIARIO, they have passed through the Moncloa Ana Botín, president of the Santanderas well as its counterpart in BBVA, Carlos Torres, in the same way as Isidro Fainé, president of the la Caixa Foundation and Criteria, the financial entity's business conglomerate. But private meetings extend to all sectors. Florentino Pérez, the president of the construction and services company ACSwas one of the first to be summoned, and the head of Iberdrola, Ignacio Galanor the CEO of Endesa, José Bogas.
According to the sources cited, Pedro Sánchez has acknowledged to the different interlocutors that “the current environment of confrontation with businessmen is not convenient, that he has every confidence that the legislature will last as long as possible”, and that, in these conditions, it is very opportune that the waters return to their channel and that “relations with the business world walk towards normality.
Although Pedro Sánchez recognizes in these meetings that he is very happy with the departure from Podemos of the coalition Government, admits at the same time “his concern about the approaches he exhibits on a daily basis the vice president and Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz» -which has come to occupy from the point of view of the program the gap left by the ministers of the party of Iglesias– and with whom the relationships, on account of their proposals, “are the closest thing to a real ordeal».
«Sánchez's purpose is to maintain contact with all the country's business leaders, rebuild the bridges and consolidate a permanent path of dialogue, regardless of whether the companies are listed on the stock market or not,” say the sources consulted. But the problem with these meetings, as recognized by the media aware of them, is that the credibility of Pedro Sánchez among the businessmen with whom he is seeing “is on the floor” after the continuous attacks received on behalf of the benefits they obtain, as well as the blatant increase in the tax pressure -both in the Corporation tax as in the social contributions-.
And that, not to mention “the icing on all this offensive cake, which are the new generation pseudo-tax figures that are punishing the income of the companies energetic and of the bank in particular”, appealed in court and pending to eventually become permanent and structural. The interlocutors also do not forget the string of accusations that they were subjected to with the decision to Ferrovial of leaving the headquarters in Spain to list on the New York Stock Exchange, the warnings to potential candidates to follow in their footsteps, and the general intensification of the interventionist messages and control over the business world.
In the conversations held, and despite admitting his bad relationship with Vice President Díaz – who is the one who puts the most pressure to consolidate taxes on banks and energy companies, having relied on this to support the Government -, Pedro Sánchez did not want to be explicit about the decisions that will be taken in this regard. It is true that he renounces the possibility of creating some State's general budgets by 2024 has placed these tax figures in a regulatory limbo – since they should have been regulated in the corresponding accompanying law that now will not exist -, but “the president has not been entirely clear about what he will finally do, despite having promised that he will do his best to stop Díaz's occurrences.”
According to the media consulted, “the majority of businessmen have lost their fear of the Government, they believe that these attempts at rapprochement will be of no use – given the servitudes to which Sánchez is subject if he wants to remain at the head of the Executive -, and They don't trust his word at all, after having to endure a full-blown campaign to undermine his reputation». In general, “entrepreneurs are very fed up of this Government, and of a situation that does not have any parallel with any other developed country in the world,” summarize the people aware of the conversations and aware of the business climate that exists in relation to the current Moncloa team and its allies.
“It is logical that the regulated sectors of activityas is the case of banks and electricity companies, are more receptive to this type of approach, because their income statement It depends largely on the policies adopted by the Government, but the general trend among the business community is that a point has been reached in which no one believes in what the president says, and in which, despite his confession about the bad relations with Minister Díaz, at this point he has no choice but to depend on her if he wants to continue in La Moncloa,” conclude the sources consulted.