The Bank of Spain is emerging as the next objective of the progressive colonization of the institutions that the Government of Pedro Sánchez is carrying out.

To the politicization of the CIS or the INE is now added the possible alteration of balances at the top of the regulator, key to the stability of the financial sector

.

A bankruptcy in the tradition of distribution of powers -by which the Executive appoints three directors, the opposition two and the "Catalan quota" one- that would offer a bad image.

before the European Central Bank.

The fact is that, for the moment, the first vice president, Nadia Calviño,

has not shown willingness to negotiate with the PP the renewal of the leadership of the Bank of Spain

just a few days before the term of the last counselor appointed by the Rajoy Government, the former Secretary of State Fernando Eguidazu, expires.

Until now he had governed an unwritten rule of consensus according to which the two big parties jointly appointed figures of a more technical than political nature.

The break with that tradition was Miguel Ángel Fernández Ordóñez (MAFO), whose management was harshly contested even from the European Commission.

If Calviño finally takes command posts in one of the institutional pillars for the economy, his governor will be isolated.

Pablo Hernández de Cos is a respected figure precisely because of his independence

, which has led him to question many government measures, such as the increase in the minimum wage or the decision to link pensions to inflation instead of including them in an income agreement.

The politicization of state bodies results in a lack of credibility that the Spanish economy, the only European economy that has not reached pre-pandemic growth levels, cannot afford.

Yesterday

The INE -whose director, Juan Manuel Rodríguez Poo, resigned in June after clashing with the Government, which replaced him with Elena Manzanera- changed the weighting criteria to calculate the CPI

, which rose one tenth while core inflation climbed to 7.5%.

The data is worrisome for an EU fearful that the Spanish rise anticipates widespread increases in community territory.

The new accounting reduces the weight of food and expenses associated with housing, which can open the door to the elaboration of creative and on-demand statistics.

We have already seen the degradation suffered by those of the CIS, converted into an instrument to prop up the government's discourse and manipulate public opinion.

In the case of the Bank of Spain,

the country is risking its reputation in Europe at a delicate time for debt

.

The Executive must respect the consensus that governed an institution that should not become -or appear to- an organ bent on political interests.

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