Catalan President urges employers “to work together” on the economic recovery and self-determination process

Barcelona (ACN).- The President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas, has called on employers “to work together” on three objectives: lifting the economy, ensuring social cohesion through Welfare State public policies and driving forward the political process on Catalonia’s future. On Friday, Mas addressed over a hundred major employers in Catalonia at the Tower Sabadell, during the presentation of the book Capitans d'indústria (which would read as ‘Captains of industry’), written by journalist Francesc Canosa and Farran. During the event, the President of Banc Sabadell, Josep Oliu, called for a “stable political environment” and “peace of mind” so that employers could “focus” all of their energy on their businesses.

“We have to do all these things together” claimed Mas to some of Catalonia’s main employers. The Catalan President insisted that each person had its own specific responsibilities, but that everyone had “to work together” and not work “in isolated compartments”. In reference to the title of the book, Mas described as “captains” the Catalan businessmen who were present at the event and recalled that a captain “looks at the whole set, stands up for himself and for others, leads the team, takes responsibility and then lifts the trophy if he wins”.

The book Capitans d'indústria (‘Captains of industry’) provides an overview of the business history of Catalonia. In reference to this, Mas stressed that the traditional Catalan mentality was based on old sayings such as “when nobody comes to sort things out, you have to solve them yourself” and on “be a hard worker instead of behaving like a little lord”. According to Mas, such a mentality has allowed the Catalan economy be competitive within the European environment.

The Catalan President also criticised members of the political sphere who “say they do not care about the economy”. However, at the same time, he also asked those “in the world of business, to get involved in politics”. Mas concluded his speech by saying that “if we successfully assimilate this mentality together, we can better manage these complexities”, regarding the political and economic challenges faced by Catalonia.

Josep Oliu: “Sabadell is a Catalan bank, but increasingly global”

Meanwhile, the President of Sabadell,Josep Oliu, said that “the bank is a Catalan company, but increasingly open, global”. Oliu emphasised the “huge crisis” experienced by the country, but he pointed out that in this context “Sabadell has ambition and has profited from opportunities, and over the years, it has gone from being a mid-sized bank in Catalonia to a major financial group in Spain, on a rising trend and with international projection.”