The final blow on the economy

Pedro Solbes, the Socialist Finance Minister met the business council in Madrid yesterday to explain the Socialist economic programme for the next four years. During the closing statements the President of the Council directly stated the Council's preference for PSOE to run the economy after the Sunday election. Diaz Ferran thanked Solbes for lowering the tax on businesses from 35 to 30% and said 'on March 10 we'll be knocking on your door to continue working together as we did these past four years'.

The statement was an important one to reassure investors and businesses that Zapatero and Solbes make the best team to deal with the current global credit crunch. However, the big surprise of the day came when Manuel Pizarro, PP's strongman on the economy, went to Onda Cero radio and accused Diaz Ferran of favouring PSOE because he was going to personally benefit from it and slagging off the entire business council.

I think after yesterday's debate, Zapatero got the big 'mo' for the last four days of the campaign. Rajoy and Pizarro are looking like dead men walking. Pizarro's accusations yesterday weren't just pure bitter rant, they actually show how when things don't go their way, PP leaders attack anyone on their way in the most intransigent of ways.

Moreover, the monthly consumer trust index (ICC-ICO) shows a greater trust on the economy by the electorate. Trust on the future of the economy has gone up 5.9%, current domestic situation (6%) and that of the country in general (5%). Seems PP's economic catastrophism message is deflating like a balloon.

Rajoy shoots himself on the foot (again).

Late last night a jubilant Rajoy announced that he had convinced Manuel Pizarro to be his number 2 in the list for Madrid. Pizarro, former CEO of Endesa, is a business tycoon that became notorious this last year when he battled the Zapatero Government when the control of Endesa was being disputed between EOn and Gas Natural, both also energy companies.

It seems curious to me that Rajoy, the defender of the 'great Spanish nation', could offer the ministry of the economy to a man who fought long and hard to sell Endesa to Germany's EOn even though Gas Natural's, a Spanish company, offer was better. I'd say it seems obvious now that Pizarro was opposing Gas Natural's bid mainly on political terms, guided by PP, and that effort is paying off now with a PP offer to go on its lists.

Rajoy is happy, he got a proper economist, unlike Arias Cañete before, that can actually speak economics to debate with PSOE's heavyweight Pedro Solbes. However he should have read the law before announcing Pizarro's name. Under the incompatibility of public office law, Pizarro won't be able to participate in any Cabinet meeting or take any decission on issues related to Endesa, because of his recent post in the company. In practice this means that pretty much the Finance Minister of the Central Government of Spain wouldn't be able to take decissions related to the energy market! such decissions include, tariff policy, the future of nuclear energy, future infrastructure plans and even a Finance Minister's key role, the Budget, specifically the section on energy policy.

So there you are once again image over substance is the greatest ill of PP. Rajoy has put up a person partisan to the core, with no experience on fiscal or employment policy and on top of that cannot exercise his post's competences because of incompatibility, but Rajoy must be thinking, hey! but everyone know who he is. Are we going back to PP's policies of friends in government? We surely are. I don't want a half-minister in the key department under the current global economic slow-down just because he's been a good ally of Rajoy these last years . Rajoy once again doesn't think for the good of the country he just thinks about how to win at any cost, imagine what he would be like in government!