Fernando Gonzalez Urbaneja, Author at The Corner

Articles by Fernando Gonzalez Urbaneja

Fernando Gonzalez Urbaneja

Over 30 years working in economic journalism. Fernando was founder and chief-editor at El País, general editor at the business daily Cinco Días, and now teaches at Universidad Carlos III. He's been president of the Madrid Press Association and the Spanish Federation of Press Associations. He's also member of the Spanish press complaints commission.

The Spanish government quells investors’ worries

Spanish Politics 12th July 2021

Sánchez: 38 Ministers In 37 Months

Fernando González Urbaneja | Pedro Sánchez has completed three years at the head of the government after success in a no confidence vote and two general elections, with sufficient majorities following coalitions of varying intensity with other groups on the left. Over the course of 37 months he has appointed 38 people to ministerial portfolios, some with long and novel names. He has had ministers for days, months and just over a year. Of the initial seven he has seven left, and tomorrow he receives another seven newly appointed. There is no precedent for such ministerial combustion.

Spanish economy 8th July 2021

Large Companies Infected By Villarejo

Fernando González Urbaneja | Over the last two decades, for very sound reasons, big companies around the world, including Spanish ones, have shown interest in improving their governance model, what is now called “governance”. There is an abundance of academic literature, recommendations from regulators, legal regulations in all areas and explicit commitments from managers and directors blessed by boards of directors and general meetings. It is clear that efforts and…

Relevant News Item 5th July 2021

Sánchez Against The Court Of Auditors

Fernando González Urbaneja | The description as “anachronistic” of the fact that the rapporteur of the Court of Auditors – in the case of the possible embezzlement of pro-independence leaders – was a minister in an Aznar government deserves some reflection. It begs the question of how the president’s mentality works, his concept of the constitutional system and the balance of powers. Added to this are the considerations of Catalan…

Spanish Politics 2nd July 2021

Sánchez’s Credibility

Congress made it clear on Tuesday that the President’s credibility is very low He has reduced the internal socialist opposition but his parliamentary and government allies, those who support him, have little appreciation for him. They support him out of necessity, to avoid worse evils and can leave him alone when it suits them. Without credibility, he will not get very far, not the day-to-day, beyond a minimal agreement on pensions that has the sole merit of pure agreement, the scenography in the Moncloa for show. Dialogue is an instrumental value, it serves to reach agreements and underpin credibility. And there is very little evidence of this.

Spanish economy 1st July 2021

Pension Agreement: Escrivá Has Done What He Could

Fernando González Urbaneja | Escrivá manages to push through the first chapter of the reform book, which has two sides: guaranteeing purchasing power (more costs) and lengthening the retirement age, along the lines of the 2011 reform.To justify the budgetary subsidies to the system, which could distort and politicise it, the argument of “inappropriate expenditure” is used, which is a flexible box where everything that needs to be put in can fit.

Spanish Politics 22nd June 2021

Pardons And The Weakness Of The Government, According To Junqueras

A weak government that has to negotiate every decision and swallow more than a few demands from its partners, but at the same time an unbeatable government due to the absence of an alternative – something like a perpetually ill government that enjoys very good health – will today pardon the pro-independence politicians imprisoned for the Catalan insurrection of 2017.

Spanish Politics 21st June 2021

Spain: How Long Will The Tension Last?

Fernando González Urbaneja | How is it possible that, burdened by an unprecedented pandemic, an intense recession and historic EU aid, political groups with power or influence are incapable of reaching a minimum of hopeful consensus? A reasonable explanation would be the mediocrity and selfishness of the leaders. There are data and trajectories that support this explanation. The absence of clear, firm, reasoned strategies for most of the known problems that hinder growth is obvious.

European politics 9th June 2021

Biden Arrives In Europe With Initiatives

Fernando González Urbaneja | President Biden comes to Europe this week with three appointments that we could call mandatory, habitual, but which take on relevance because they are the first of his term in office. For Biden, who has a great deal of international experience, Europe is not an outstanding issue, as it was for his predecessor. He knows the dossiers and most of the European interlocutors well, and his…

Spanish Politics 4th June 2021

Spain: A Confused And Weak Health Policy

Fernando González Urbaneja | The Sánchez government has given changing, confusing, changing and poorly explained responses, always tinged with a colossal self-esteem summed up in the boast that others are watching us and copying us… we are among the best… However, objective data and international statistics do not support this belief; on the contrary, Spanish performance is among the least fortunate.

Relevant News Item 1st June 2021

Pardons As A Positional Factor

Fernando González Urbaneja | Are you in favour of pardons, meaning that you are a “sanchista” (a faction of Spanish socialism)? However, if you are against them, then your position is more or less conservative or fascist, or perhaps liberal, to the right. It’s a simplification, but describes in a nutshell the bureaucracy in which Spanish politics is bogged down. Pardons, their legality, convenience, usefulness… occupy all the space for…

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Articles by Fernando Gonzalez Urbaneja

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