Spain rebukes central bank chief

Spain’s Socialist government has hit out at the Miguel Angel Fernández Ordóñez, Governor of the Bank of Spain, April 2009, in an apparent effort to distance itself from any unpopular economic thinking ahead of European elections in June 2009.

Mr Fernández Ordóñez has made himself unpopular with the government by publicly expressing his concerns about economic policy during the global crisis. He has called for control of public spending and reforms to make Spanish labour more competitive, and has warned that the social security system could fall into deficit within a year.