Division in the Chamber over 'silver chairs': "They will buy part of the plenary"

The executive of the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, led by president Josep Santacreu, is nearing the end of its term with a burning issue. The highest governing body of the public law corporation announced an agreement last week to increase the number of voluntary economic contribution memberships, known as "silver chairs", from the current two to ten. The proposal, which Santacreu himself had considered since his victory in the 2023 chamber elections, has notable support within the plenary but also a significant number of detractors. The final say will lie with the entity's plenary, which will meet next Thursday and, according to sources consulted by ARA, there is currently no certainty about the outcome of the vote.

These types of changes to the internal regulations are usually implemented at the end of the term so that, in any case, they would not come into effect with the current plenary. That is, if the expansion to 10 "silver chairs" is approved, they will not be effective until the next chamber elections, scheduled for 2027.

Currently, in a plenary of 60 seats, the two voluntary contribution memberships are added to 52 seats that are chosen by suffrage. Six more are awarded to the country's employers' organizations, Foment del Treball and Pimec, which three years ago agreed on a joint list to occupy them – they divided them three seats each. If the plenary accepts the reform, in the next elections eight memberships assigned by the vote of Barcelona entrepreneurs would disappear, down to 44. This is the point that has generated the most controversy among critics, who believe that "democracy is one person, one vote", also in the chamber body.

A "balanced representation"

Chamber sources assure, in defense of the reform, that "in the current composition of the plenary, large companies are under-represented". "The current electoral system favors the representation of small and medium-sized enterprises," they maintain from the corporation. The new model, they add, "favors a more balanced representation of all types of companies".

In a similar vein, a source from the plenary consulted by ARA considers that the representation system penalizes large companies and, therefore, it is necessary for them to have access routes that are not linked to electoral contests. "Nobody votes for the big ones," laments the same voice; who, moreover, considers it necessary for there to be large companies within the entity to give it relevance within the business world.

For now, it should be remembered, the two paid council seats are held by CriteriaCaixa, the investment arm of the La Caixa Foundation, and the RACC. Beyond these names, large companies such as Ficosa, Banc Sabadell, or Fluidra are represented in the plenary.

A valuation, this one, that is not shared by multiple voices in the plenary. The highest, those of the councilors linked to Eines de País, the pro-independence candidacy that won the 2019 elections. It was precisely the presidents of Eines – Joan Canadell and Mònica Roca – who were the architects of the reduction of the "silver chairs" to the minimum established by the Spanish Chambers of Commerce Law, two, from the previous 14.

Consulted by ARA, Eines assures they are "against the measure for the same reasons we reduced it". "Wanting to recover this figure seems totally out of place, unjustified, and contrary to what the representativeness of the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce should be," points out Toni Fitó, who was vice-president of the corporation between 2021 and 2023, in conversation with this medium. According to the lawyer, the expansion means that large companies can "buy a part of the plenary".

Without certainty for the plenary

The bulk of representatives who are against the expansion of the silver chairs makes it difficult to predict the scenario expected for next week's plenary session. As Fitó recalls, Eines achieved 21 council seats in the 2023 elections; and an absolute majority is 31. Voices from the plenary, in this regard, highlight the role of the other actor discontent with the measure, the association of small and medium-sized enterprises Pimec.

The entity chaired by Antoni Cañete has only the three employer seats it shared with Foment; but some of its members, some on the executive board, accessed council seats within the list that supported Santacreu, Va d'Empresa; but others did so with Eines de País. "With the representatives it has, it can tip the scales," observes a voice from the plenary about the association's role in this vote.

In this regard, sources from the association of small and medium-sized enterprises have confirmed to this media their rejection of the measure. Pimec considers that "representation in the Chamber's Plenary must respond to the democratic will of the electors and not to the economic capacity to access it." While the association assures "not to be against the presence of large companies" in the chamber body, they call to "preserve democratic governance that guarantees the protagonism of the entire business fabric, especially SMEs and self-employed individuals."

Regarding this position of Pimec, it is foreseeable that its associates with a voice and vote in the plenary will position themselves against the initiative. If the rejection of small and medium-sized enterprises to the silver chairs is confirmed, the executive majority to move forward with the reform would be torn apart. In Fitó's view, however, next Thursday's session "will have a lot of debate"; and neither side knows the outcome.