"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 Spanish government promoted the minimum living income (MLI) during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in an attempt to "eradicate poverty and promote labor market participation and social inclusion for people in vulnerable situations." Five years later, the Independent Accountability Authority (AIREF) believes that this flagship measure of Pedro Sánchez's administration has failed to fulfill at least one of its objectives. The agency found that the benefit reduces the probability of working by three percentage points (12% less) and decreases the number of days worked to 0.6 per month (11% less). These are the main conclusions of the annual analysis of this benefit published by the AIREF, which, for the first time, focuses on its impact on employment.