The Diplomat
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, defended yesterday in the Senate the choice of the former Minister of Education, Isabel Celaá, to be the new ambassador to the Holy See, arguing that she is a “person of dialogue, with an open disposition and with extensive political experience in the best sense”.
In an appearance before the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Upper House, Albares expressed his conviction that Celaá “will do an excellent job in improving relations”, and pointed out that “one can be a great professional whether or not one is a diplomat”. For this reason, he sees no problem with the choice of a former minister to take charge of the embassy in the Vatican, of which he said that “it is a very special state” with which relations “are of a different kind”, different to those of the countries around us.
In response to the criticisms expressed by the PP and Vox spokespersons, the minister recalled that “it is not the first time” that a person with this non-diplomatic profile has been chosen to head the Spanish delegation to the Holy See.
The appointment of the former minister is pending the Spanish government’s acceptance of the Vatican’s request for the Vatican’s approval.
Yesterday, it was announced that PP MPs Valentina Martínez Ferro and Pablo Hispán have submitted a question to the Spanish Congress of Deputies asking the Government about the “merits” it has valued in choosing Isabel Celaá to head the diplomatic representation.
Specifically, they want to know whether the appointment corresponds to “the commitment to specialisation in the appointment of ambassadorial posts” announced by Minister Albares on 30 August 2021 in the Congressional Foreign Affairs Committee, when he explained the conditions that would be taken into account for the appointment of heads of diplomatic delegations.
On that occasion, Albares said that ‘specialisation must be sought, mainly in very relevant countries’ and that ‘it is important that they speak the language of the destination and that they have previous experience in the country’, merits that Celaá ‘lacks’, according to the MPs.
