A new edition of the PROA Communication Observatories was held on 26 November. On this occasion, the guest speaker was the former Minister of Public Administration, Jordi Sevilla, who spoke to a large group of businessmen and representatives of civil society about the current economic situation and the doubts that loom over the recovery of the economy in Spain and Europe.
For the PSOE's former economic spokesman between 2000 and 2004, there are three clear headlines in the economic field at the moment:
- We are coming out of the recession, not the crisis.
- We are not going into another recession but there is "languid stagnation".
- It remains to be seen whether 2016 can close at a higher level of growth than 2015 of around 2%.
Jordi Sevilla said he was convinced that the model implemented until now _ internal devaluation to improve the competitiveness of exports _ "has failed". The country will only be reactivated if the upward trend in domestic consumption continues, and this, he declared, "will only happen if measures are put in place to improve the disposable income of families". In any case, this renowned economist acknowledged that, after lowering taxes and increasing investment, "there is not much more room for manoeuvre and we will not return to pre-crisis growth levels".
In a very pedagogical way, the current PWC advisor explained the three fundamental changes that are being consolidated and which, in his opinion, will be the foundations of the next economic model, which are:
- Changes in the way companies are financed: end of bank credit.
- Construction will cease to be the locomotive of the economy. What will be relevant for growth will not be the sector but the vector: not so much where we want to grow but how we want to grow - by providing innovation and technology or not.
- Globalisation: Spanish companies are already multinationals. In 2014, 1,500 companies reported having investments abroad.
The participant in the November edition of the PROA Communication Observatories also expressed his opinion on the situation in Catalonia and on corruption. For Jordi Sevilla, "more than two million Catalans want to have a say in their future because CIU has taken a radical turn towards independence and has changed its policy of pacts with the State". On corruption, Sevilla expressed his surprise at the "lack of forceful action" against such a limited problem "which is clearly seen in the connection between party financing and tenders for works in the local councils of this country".
ON BOW OBSERVATORIES
The "Proa Observatories" are off-the-record meetings for a maximum of 20 people in which a topical issue is addressed by an expert in the field. Among the personalities who have participated in these meetings are Manuel Conthe, Chairman of the Advisory Board of Expansión and Actualidad Económica, who reflected on good and bad banking practices. The economist José Carlos Díez, who analysed the economic situation, and the Minister of Education, Culture and Sport, José Ignacio Wert, who explained the key aspects of the educational reform.