Spain’s left-wing government and the corporate sector have grown more hostile this year.
Once the Socialist-led government seized control, the two factions collaborated during the COVID-19 epidemic, which devastated Spain’s economy. However, when the epidemic subsided and a cost-of-living issue emerged, insiders claimed, things soured.
As the Socialists appeal to their base ahead of the 2023 elections, the new hate may persist.
“It’s the Socialists’ election plan,” stated University of Malaga political science professor Manuel Arias Maldonado.
Last month, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez slammed Ferrovial(FER.MC) CEO Rafael del Pino for moving its legal headquarters from Spain to the Netherlands.
“With this declaration I feel that this is not the case of Mr. Del Pino,” Sanchez remarked.
Business insiders say the government is increasingly attacking Spain’s business leaders personally.
Since the recent financial crisis, Unidas Podemos, the Socialists’ coalition partner, was always anti-business. Then, late last year, Socialists joined the assaults.
Sanchez’s office did not respond to Reuters’ inquiry.
Del Pino is hardly the only businessman under official scrutiny. Social Rights Minister Ione Belarra accused Juan Roig, CEO of Mercadona, Spain’s largest grocery chain, of profiteering from the cost-of-living issue.
“In Spain, there’s no longer anyone who can’t be called out—not even Mr. Juan Roig,” Belarra stated in January.
“Everyone has an opinion and I respect it, even if I don’t share it,” Roig said last week.
“I’m happy of my activities and how Mercadona treats customers, workers, suppliers, society, and capital,” he stated.
Energy Minister Teresa Ribera has battled Iberdrola (IBE.MC) Executive Chairman Ignacio Sanchez Galan. Galan’s “idiot,” remarks on Spaniards who chose regulated energy bills “very embarrassed” her.
“I don’t think a businessman should call his consumers fools, especially in these circumstances,” she remarked.
She accused Galan of supporting Iberdrola shareholders when he opposed Spain’s energy market price plan.
The administration noted that 13 agreements between the corporate sector and unions, including one on worker healthcare last month, had not changed the relationship.
“In such an intimate connection there are periods of greater intimacy and of less comprehension,” the Labour Ministry stated.
Yet, unilaterally raising the minimum wage, imposing a wealth tax, and mandating gender balance in business boards have angered the private sector.
Comment Template