Almost from the beginning of the joint journey of the coalition government, the clashes between its different sectors have been part of the usual trend of operation. And in those frictions, United We Can – and, in some issues, also ministers of the PSOE – have had an almost permanent nemesis: the Third Vice President and Minister of Economy, Nadia Calviño, representative of the most liberal wing of the Executive.
The last big difference has been around the regulation of the labor rights of riderspromoted by the Ministry of Labor. But the Economy has also put obstacles in the way of issues such as the prohibition of evictions, the increase in the minimum wage, the mortgage moratorium, the prohibition of cutting off basic supplies to vulnerable families and, in recent days, the implementation of direct aid to sectors harmed by measures against Covid-19. Beyond the purple intention of differentiating itself with respect to the majority partner of the coalition, conflicts with the Economy exist and respond to serious political differences.
Direct aid
The proposal to implement direct aid from the State -which would complement those of some communities- to sectors such as the hotel industry has come from United We Can, but institutions such as the Bank of Spain agree with a measure that the employers have also proposed and even some banks. However, Economy has refused for the moment to evaluate such a possibility.
The department headed by Calviño insists that there are already specific ERTE designed for these situations with tax exemptions, and is not in favor of a model of aid that has been implemented in other countries. At the moment, neither the pressure from United We Can nor from the employers or even the banking sector has had an effect.
Minimum salary
Calviño has also been seen in recent weeks with the head of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, in light of the increase in the minimum interprofessional wage. Díaz is in favor of an increase of around 0.9%, in line with inflation, which would amount to just a few euros a month but which the economic vice president rejects. For now, Calviño has won that internal battle, since the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, has kept the minimum wage frozen at 950 euros per month. But Díaz intends to reopen the debate in the coming weeks by bringing the employers and unions together again, and has promised to legislate on his own if employers continue to refuse a raise.
Evictions
At the end of last year Calviño was also very tough in the negotiation to extend the ban on evictions of vulnerable families without housing alternative to all citizens with economic problems, and not only to those who have difficulties due to the pandemic. It was their pressure, together with that exerted by the Ministry of Transport of José Luis Ábalos, which got the State to commit to compensating large landlords who could not evict vulnerable families who could not pay the rent from their homes, since that Unidos Podemos proposed only compensation for the first ten homes.
Basic supplies
Something similar happened with respect to the prohibition of cutting off basic supplies (electricity, water and gas) to families who could not pay for them. The measure was in force during the first state of alarm, but declined in September despite the disagreement from United We Can. Calviño was one of the ministers who opted for the end of that measure, However, it started up again a few weeks ago despite the initial reluctance of Transición Ecológica.
The mortgage moratorium
In that same negotiation last September, it was also decided not to extend the deadline to request a moratorium on the payment of the mortgage for people whose income had fallen due to the coronavirus crisis. Again, the dynamics were the same: United We Can – and some socialist ministers – were in favor of the extension, but Economía flatly refused. A few weeks ago, Calviño herself announced the reimplantation of the measure, according to sources in his ministry because of the facilities provided by the European Banking Authority (EBA).
The rental price
The third vice president has also always been very reluctant to give the powers to the communities to establish a limitation on the price of leases in areas with a runaway market, despite the fact that the coalition pact between the PSOE and United We can collect it. Last October, both formations pledged to include this mechanism in the housing law they are negotiating. And, a few days later, Calviño insisted on his reservations: “What citizens want is for us to explain to them that things are complex and not that we tell them that things are easily solved with a magic wand, “he said.
The labor reform
Ending the most damaging aspects of the labor reform will be one of the main legislative projects of the Government for this year. And, although the pandemic has not made it possible to advance in the work for it quickly, the repeal will bring a new battle within the Executive. Calviño, in fact, was already very clear last May, when PSOE and Podemos committed to EH Bildu to repeal the rule “in full”. “It is absurd and counterproductive to open the debate”,He then clearly criticized the economic vice president.
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