Spain fails in its third attempt to preside over the Eurogroup

BrusselsThe third time's not the charm either. The Minister of Economy, Carlos Cuerpo, has failed in his attempt to preside over the Eurogroup –the monthly meeting of eurozone finance ministers– and withdrew just hours before the vote was to take place. The Spanish Socialist's defeat follows the failed candidacies of his two predecessors for the Economy portfolio, fellow Socialist Nadia Calviño and Popular Party member Luis de Guindos. Thus, the current leader of the organization, Irish Conservative Paschal Donohoe, has reappointed his mandate for another two and a half years.

Cuerpo's chances have been minimal from the outset, which is why he withdrew hours before the vote, scheduled for 5:00 p.m. this Monday. The Spanish minister himself admitted in statements to the press that, "after recent contacts" with other countries in the single currency, they realized that his candidacy "does not have the necessary majority." "In an exercise of responsibility, I have decided to step aside to favor an election based on consensus," Cuerpo said just before entering the Eurogroup meeting.

Despite the defeat, the Spanish government in this case has reason to believe that the important thing is to participate. The intention of the candidacy is to project the Minister of Economy onto the European political scene and make him more influential in the corridors of Brussels. In fact, after her failed attempts to preside over the Eurogroup, Calviño won the position of president of the European Investment Bank (EIB), the EU's main financial arm; and Guindos became vice president of the European Central Bank (ECB). However, Cuerpo denied that he intends to make the jump to Brussels and said that he already holds a "sufficiently relevant role" in the Spanish government "to consider others."

The main factor in Cuerpo's defeat was the political bias of his counterparts. He found himself facing the most right-wing Eurogroup in history: seven conservative finance ministers, two from the far right, three from liberals, and only four from social democrats. The majority needed to be elected is eleven votes, and therefore, the Spanish minister had a very difficult task from the outset, considering the strength of the political parties.

Furthermore, the European People's Party (EPP) has already publicly called on its finance ministers across the eurozone to vote for the conservative Donahoe. In contrast, the Social Democratic party had not supported Cuerpo because another progressive minister, Lithuanian Rimantas Sadzius, was running, but he also withdrew from the vote a few hours earlier. The only one to publicly support the Spanish candidacy was Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who was expelled from the Party of European Socialists (PES) for his authoritarian tendencies and closeness to Vladimir Putin's regime.

No common front among the southern countries

On the other hand, hopes that the geographic factor might play in Spain's favor have come to nothing. Despite the fact that the Eurogroup presidency is usually held by rather small countries, there was speculation that Cuerpo might convince his counterparts in the southern countries of the continent, which traditionally join forces with Spain to pursue expansionary economic policies, such as France and Italy. However, there are also European partners who historically oppose these policies and are strong advocates of austerity, such as Germany, the Netherlands, and the Nordic countries in general.

Despite the defeat, Cuerpo has accepted it with "sportsmanlikeness" and says he does not "regret" having run for the Eurogroup presidency. In fact, he asserted that he has managed to garner support from different political parties and from various geographic locations in the eurozone. Thus, he denied that this is further bad news for a Spanish government in the midst of a crisis due to the corruption cases that plague it.

On the other hand, the People's Party (PP) is already basking in the failed attempt of Pedro Sánchez's executive. From Génova, they call the Socialist leader "deluded" and assert that he has made a "fool of himself" simply for "considering that one of his own could be elected" president of the Eurogroup. "This shows that our country is paying the consequences of the discredit to which the head of the current executive has been subjected," say PP sources.