Cristina Herrero bids farewell to the Fiscal Authority: "There have been highs and lows"

Madrid"This may be my last press conference." These were the words with which Cristina Herrero, president of the Independent Authority for Fiscal Responsibility (AIReF), announced on Tuesday that her term is coming to an end. Herrero was elected six years ago to head the Spanish agency dedicated to monitoring and controlling public spending and, consequently, fiscal sustainability—that is, ensuring the public accounts are sound. However, her work ends on March 3. By law, she cannot return to the position, and there is no interim appointment at AIReF. Herrero's dismissal is automatic, and therefore the Spanish government must find and propose a candidate before that date. If this does not happen, the director of the budget analysis division assumes supervisory functions, but their leadership capacity is limited.

The Ministry of Finance, under the leadership of María Jesús Montero, is responsible for proposing a name for the position and is already exploring potential candidates, sources from the ministry told ARA. The candidate must be approved by the Council of Ministers, but will then require the approval of an absolute majority in the Finance Committee of the Congress, where they will also have to appear. It's important to note that the majorities in the committee are different from the majorities in the plenary session of the Spanish lower house. In the committee, the Spanish government only needs the support of all its coalition partners except, for example, Junts. The PP, Vox, and Carles Puigdemont's party together hold 18 votes, while the remaining parties together hold 19. If the candidate is not approved by an absolute majority in the Congress, a simple majority in the Senate, also in its Finance Committee, would suffice.

In 2020, Herrero's candidacy, proposed by Pedro Sánchez's government, was unanimously endorsed, although the PP, Vox, and Ciudadanos parties expressed reservations (Herrero had worked closely with his predecessor, the former and current Socialist Minister). Escrivá, in fact, was the first to hold the presidency of AIReF. He was chosen by Mariano Rajoy's government (PP), but the PSOE abstained from the vote. Regarding his replacement, the current president of the agency declined to comment, although she does believe that "it is undoubtedly better to look within our own ranks," referring to the team currently working at the Fiscal Authority. In any case, this is now a matter for María Jesús Montero.

An "independent" body

During these six years, Herrero, an economist and member of the Senior Corps of State Auditors and Tax Inspectors, has championed the "independence" of the AIReF and at Tuesday's press conference Regarding sick leave, she raised the issue again: "It's important to understand that AIReF stands for independence, rigor, balance, and equilibrium when it comes to telling it like it is. We mustn't fall for provocation because it doesn't help at all," she stated. Over the years, some of the agency's opinions have sparked conflict with the Spanish government, especially those related to the pension system. "Independent institutions are uncomfortable [...] if you're not independent, something is wrong," Herrero reflected.

"We have consolidated the institution as a benchmark, and that's the difficult path. Prestige is hard to achieve and can be lost for even a minute," Herrero told the press. This Tuesday, the outgoing president of AIReF noted that her term has been one of "highs and lows" and lamented, for example, that public administrations, especially the central government, have not provided sufficient support for the agency's work. "We haven't received the attention we deserved," she said. He also took the opportunity to clearly state what he would have liked to see happen: an amendment to the law governing the agency to make it more "rigorous" regarding the tasks it must carry out.