The governor renounces humor in Garcia-Milà's surprise debut

BarcelonaA legend accompanies José Luis Escrivá, which points to him as an involuntary humorist of reference. In addition to his air of mischievous bonhomie, there are some facts that will be difficult to erase from the collective imagination: when he got confused at an event when he was Minister of Social Security and by mistake put water in the space intended precisely for placing the bottle. Those laughs – that of Escrivá himself and that of those who saw him – have turned him into a curiously charismatic character and from whom endless gags are expected.

From this point of view, those attending the event organized by the Círculo de Economía tonight could feel disappointed. The current governor of the Bank of Spain has been at the entity to offer a master class in macroeconomic matters, and has only made his audience laugh with his problems with the projector remote control. The governor of the Bank of Spain has spent part of his speech in peculiar postures to try to make the device work, but if there is one thing that stood out in his words it was his interesting exposition of the macroeconomic situation in Spain.

Escrivá, the man with the glass, has invited the attendees to see the glass half full in the three major challenges that the country faces. He cited, first of all, productivity: The State is ten points below the average productivity of Germany, France and Italy, but in the last five years it has rapidly reduced this gap, which had reached 17 points. Secondly, he referred to fiscal space: Spain has a debt equivalent to 101% of its GDP, far from the 60% required by European standards. The truth, again, is that the most recent dynamic is positive, and in just a few years it has gone from 124% to the current 101%. The head of the Bank of Spain has pointed out, thirdly, the housing problem: he has admitted that there is a great imbalance between housing production and demand in the market.

Garcia-Milà comes on stage

Escrivá's presentation was the main focus of attention at an event that revealed – surprisingly and unintentionally – the change that the Círculo de Economía will undergo in the near future. Jaume Guardiola, who was supposed to present Escrivá as president of the Círculo de Economía, was unable to attend the event due to flu. Who has the responsibility? Teresa Garcia-Milà, who is vice president of the institution but, above all, will be the future president of the entity, in an appointment that will take effect in the summer and will make her the first president in the history of the Círculo.

Garcia-Milà has resolved the task with solvency and a certain amount of nerves, at an event that has allowed the omnipresence of Banc Sabadell to be staged once again at the public events that are being held in Catalonia since BBVA presented the takeover bid. Upon his entry, the governor of the Bank of Spain found himself in a small quartet that included the Minister of Economy, Alícia Romero, accompanied by Josep Oliu, president of Sabadell, and Miquel Roca, secretary of the board.

It must be said that in this quartet Escrivá drank water without incident. It must also be said that he was not accompanied by any representative of BBVA.