Editorial: El Mundo

• María Jesús Montero intends to appoint her subordinate Inés Olóndriz to lead the Independent Authority of Fiscal Responsibility (AIReF) in a move aimed at neutralizing this vital public body as a counterbalance to the government.
• The government is adding the erosion of supervisory bodies to its political tactic of influencing institutions like the Prosecutor's Office and public companies such as RTVE and Sepi.
• Inés Olóndriz, despite having a technical profile, has shown a lack of neutrality in her current role and has been an active party in agreements that favor Catalonia.
• A potential appointment of Olóndriz, a senior Treasury official, as the head of the body expected to scrutinize her own accounts, would deal a fatal blow to AIReF's credibility.

Conclusion: Montero's decision reflects a worrisome trend of the government instrumentalizing and eroding independent public bodies for greater political control and partisan purposes, which could have serious repercussions on Spain's democracy and governance.

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