Abascal chooses economic guru to reach the large Catalan company

BarcelonaBusiness-oriented move by Vox. In the lists for the Congress of Deputies for the constituency of Barcelona, to which ARA has had access, the economic guru of the radical right-wing party, Ignacio Fontcuberta, is incorporated as number 3. Santiago Abascal has decided to place his finance man to build a bridge "with the business fabric" in Catalonia, according to sources familiar with the operation. Even more so considering his background as an executive, which has allowed him to hold a prominent position in the party.

Beyond Juanjo Aizcorbe and the former Ciutadans member Carina Mejías, who were already expected to repeat in the first two places on the list, the choice of Fontcuberta is relevant because polls forecast the growth of Vox, which takes for granted an increase of at least one or two deputies for Barcelona –with respect to the current two–. He is an economist with a decade and a half of experience as a professional in the private sector. His career began in financial auditing at PwC (PriceWaterhouseCoopers), one of the so-called Big Four consultancies, due to the fact that they dominate the sector worldwide. He later worked as head of strategic planning at a company dedicated to retail trade, before being signed by Abascal just last year as the party's financial director. He is now the party manager, a position that had already been held precisely by the number 1 on the list, Aizcorbe.

Born in Oviedo in 1986, but with Catalan roots, he has always had many ties to Catalonia. Fontcuberta is not just anyone within Vox. The state deputy secretariat for management is significant for the management of the party's accounts, although his profile is designed precisely to make a quality leap in connections with large companies. In the Principality, for example, they have a lot of ground to cover, given that it has been difficult for them to reach a part of the business fabric, especially with small and medium-sized enterprise entities like Pimec. They have also not had much luck with employers' associations like Cecot, while with Foment del Treball –despite existing relations– there has also been a clash precisely over the vision of immigration, despite the harmony on aspects such as taxes, deregulation, or opposition to the reduction of the working day.

Fontcuberta's move has been seasoned with the placement of lawyer Rosario Mesas, a specialist in housing – a key link in national priority policies –, while number 5 will be the intermunicipal coordinator and Sitges councilor José Antonio Gilabert, the greatest exponent of the fight against low-emission zones. Next, to show confidence in who is also the state spokesperson for youth and a member of the Vox leadership, there is the member of Parliament Júlia Calvet, who will contribute to the campaign with the goal of fishing for votes from Aliança – in addition to the PSC –, in an aspect in which Terrassa councilor Alicia Tomás, who accompanies her, will also be key.