Guardiola asks for municipal elections based on management and not on ideology

The president of the Cercle d'Economia, Jaume Guardiola, shared this Wednesday a working lunch with the young entrepreneurs of Aijec, to whom he wanted to convey a message of optimism despite the complexity of the economic scenario and global geopolitical tensions. "Uncertainty dominates," admitted the former banker, after wondering whether we are facing a hard or soft economic adjustment.

"Expectations, feelings, point to a hard adjustment, although the reality of the numbers indicates, for now, that it may be softer," Guardiola pointed out. In his opinion, the next two quarters will be negative, but the situation could recover by mid-next year, so the "recession might not be real" or be less severe than in previous crises.

Regarding the war in Ukraine, the president of the Cercle stated that the growing "European fatigue" and the fact that "neither side knows very well how it can win the war" leads to entering a phase of "seeking a negotiated solution" to end the conflict. In his geopolitical analysis, Guardiola also referred to "the dangerous polarization" of American society, as could be seen in these last midterm elections. "From the Cercle we are preparing an opinion note on this topic," he announced.

Landing now in the local sphere, the former CEO of Banco Sabadell asked that the next municipal elections "focus on management and data and not on ideology." "The May elections must serve for politicians to be accountable for their management, to evaluate the fulfillment of the objectives set and to put all the data on the table. From civil society we must force it to be so," Guardiola requested, after assuring that in Barcelona "mistakes have been made that have prevented some objectives from being met."

In his opinion, Barcelona and Catalunya are "well positioned" to take advantage "of the reactivation of the European industrial strategy." "Reindustrialization will favor Barcelona thanks to its competitive position. It is true that here the weight of Ibex companies is limited because we have let many opportunities be lost, but being more oriented towards the new economy will clearly give us more opportunities in the future," he considered.

Guardiola shared these reflections with fifty Aijec members just after participating in the presentation event for the America's Cup sailing calendar, which will be held in Barcelona between August and October 2024. According to the president of the Cercle d'Economia, we are facing an event that will be "extraordinary" for the city and that is the result of private initiative. "Barcelona will be the center of the universe for two months; it is a large-caliber, very interesting project," he stated, after recalling the role played by businessman Daniel Puig and Barcelona Global.