Everything seemed on track for Isabel Pardo de Vera, former Secretary of State for Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, and therefore, former number two in the ministry responsible for housing policies in the last legislature, to take over from Joan Clos in the presidency of Asval on December 20. Everything seemed on track until this Friday, when his signing ended up being frustrated before it took place.
The news of his appointment advanced by El Confidencial has precipitated the commotion over the possible conflict of interest. Asval is the Association of Rental Home Owners, the lobby of which large funds such as Blackstone and other 6,000 landlords in the country are part, and had been in talks with Pardo de Vera for about a month to prepare his candidacy.. The former number two in Transport was interested in the project and negotiations between both parties were advanced; Pardo de Vera, in fact, had already held meetings with partners of the organization to analyze some lines of work, waiting to receive the opinion of the Office of Conflicts of Interest, which is the governing body of the Ministry of Finance that is in charge of the legal control of the incompatibilities of senior officials and the rest of the Administration personnel. However, the commotion caused by the news of her possible candidacy has led her to rule out the option.. “He's not even going to wait for the ruling,” say close sources consulted by EL MUNDO.. However, sources close to the association assure this newspaper that the former president of Adif has received throughout the day a “negative verbal report” from said office that precipitated her step back.
Pardo de Vera was part of the socialist Ministry that negotiated and drafted, together with Unidas Podemos, the Housing Law that contemplates limiting the price of rentals in stressed areas, among other things.. Asval, for its part, was one of the voices in the real estate sector most critical of this rule, which is why the signing – now failed – generated misgivings.
Those who supported Pardo de Vera's candidacy allege his “worth”, his “technical profile” and his “extreme professional prestige” to represent “the legitimate interests” of the residential sector at a “very interesting” time for housing in our country.. They also assure that their role in the negotiations on the Housing Law was very discreet given that their position, “more pro-sector” and “very market-oriented”, was not in line with that of other socialist members who participated in the dialogue, and much less with that of the partners of Unidas Podemos.
For Asval it was also an opportunity to regain relevance at a time when the Government of Pedro Sánchez has given more prominence to housing policies, with the creation of its own ministry and the appointment of Isabel Rodríguez as the new head of the sector.. At his inauguration, Rodríguez promised to “protect the owners” and the appointment [now frustrated] of a woman linked to the party like Pardo de Vera allowed Asval to rebuild the bridges of institutional communication. Now he will have to do it with another representative whose candidacy will have to be accelerated in the coming days.
Profile
Before becoming Raquel Sánchez's number two, Pardo held the position of president of Adif, a company she joined in 2007 through a Public Employment Offer and after having worked in the private engineering and consulting sector. of railway and road infrastructure projects.
More than two and a half years after his appointment, Pardo presented his resignation, along with the then president of Renfe, Isaías Táboas, after the problem that arose over the dimensions and design of the Cercanías trains for Cantabria and Asturias.
After his resignation, Pardo pointed out, regarding his resignation after the controversy of this case, that he has “never” had “attachment to the position” or a problem with making his position available “as always” and assured that “trains have never been manufactured that They couldn't fit through tunnels and not a single euro has ever been wasted”.