Foreign Affairs dismisses Juan González-Barba and orders him to request the approval of his successor, a PP diplomat
Resignation and imperviousness to astonishment. These are the two reactions that prevail among the members of the Diplomatic Career to the latest move by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jose Manuel Albareswho a few days ago dismissed the Spanish ambassador to Croatia, Juan González-Barbawho was Secretary of State for the EU between 2020 and 2021, already with Pedro Sanchez as president of the Government.
The reason that triggered the dismissal was none other than the publication of a Tribune in El Confidencial entitled “The external projection of our parliamentary monarchy”, which González-Barba signed on January 5, almost two weeks after the Christmas message. of the King and four days before the Conference of Ambassadors was held in the ministry, an annual meeting where Albares gave the Spanish ambassadors – a total of 130 – the guidelines for its foreign policy. With an almost academic tone, González-Barba only refers to Felipe VI at the end of the text, when he states that The King “contributes to ensuring that Spain’s presence has greater reach and impact”.
The fact that Albares has dismissed González-Barba after signing an article defending the system of parliamentary monarchy in Spain and the figure of Felipe VI is quite striking due to the fact that he holds the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the PSOE. in a coalition government with Sumar. But there is another aspect that is no longer surprising in the corridors of the headquarters of the Palace of the Marquis of Salamanca, where his bad relationship with the head of the House of HM the King is known, Camilo Villarino; something that many diplomats regret, who consider that Albares “has to leave his personal problems aside” because “this ministry is a ministry of State that has to have the best of harmony with the Palacio de la Zarzuela.”
A strategic move by Albares
González-Barba’s dismissal occurred on January 10, when as soon as he returned to Zagreb, after having spent two days in Madrid at the Conference of Ambassadors, he received a call from the undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Xavier Martiwho informed him of his dismissal, two years and seven months after having arrived in Croatia as ambassador, a mission leadership that, like the others, lasts four years. Immediately afterwards, he received instructions to request approval from the Croatian authorities for his successor, José Ramón García Hernándeza diplomat close to the PP. The latter is still a strategic move by the minister: Aware of the criticism that the dismissal of González-Barba would arouse, Albares has tried to minimize the impact by sending an ambassador close to the opposition, so that he cannot be reproached again for appointing diplomats related to the PSOE and to avoid any speculation about the positions reserved with an asterisk in the ‘Embabombo’, which is what the candidacy of diplomats to occupy posts in Spanish embassies is called. An asterisk that was not contemplated for Croatia in the last contest either.
Even so, from the Diplomatic Information Office (OID) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, they have not wanted to confirm the dismissal of González-Barba – from where they say that “he is still an ambassador” – but neither do they deny the information advanced on this matter by El País, The Objective, El Confidencial Digital and that ABC has confirmed from highly reliable sources.
Albares’ “terror command”
This is the second time that Albares dismisses González-Barba. The first was in 2021, when he was Secretary of State of the EU. The direct dialogue he had with President Sánchez provoked the anger of the head of Spanish diplomacy, who decided to dismiss him. As it was very serious for the minister to dismiss a diplomat who in the exercise of his position, for all intents and purposes, was a vice minister, he sent him to Croatia as ambassador. This is, therefore, a personal vendetta by Albares, to which is also added that the minister targets any diplomat who speaks to the press or has dialogue with the media.
This way of acting by Albares with “terror command”has been interpreted by some members of the diplomatic career as a warning to anyone who has their own ideas and wants to share them with public opinion, something that is still “very serious”, because ambassadors have the same right as any other Spanish citizen to write and publish their opinions.
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