<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong>The People's Party (PP) Parliamentary Group in Congress has asked the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, about the reasons that "justify the early dismissal" of the current ambassador to Croatia, Juan González-Barba, and asked him to clarify whether "the government will continue to dismiss and appoint ambassadors without clear regulations and with criteria based on political affinities."</strong></h4> In a parliamentary question for oral response registered on April 29 and published this Tuesday in the Official Gazette of the Cortes Generales, PP MPs Carlos Floriano Corrales and Belén Hoyo Juliá, urge the minister to explain "what reasons justify the early dismissal of Ambassador González-Barba, what relationship it has with his article on the projection of the parliamentary monarchy, and to what extent the government uses these dismissals to discourage diplomats from freely expressing their thoughts." In another immediate question, the same deputies asked Albares if "the Government will continue to dismiss and appoint ambassadors without clear regulations and with criteria based on political affinities, thus compromising the neutrality of the diplomatic career." On May 6, the Council of Ministers approved the appointment of José Ramón García Hernández, former Executive Secretary of International Relations for the PP, to the Spanish Embassy in Croatia, replacing Juan González-Barba, whose dismissal has sparked a heated controversy due to the alleged political motives for his dismissal. González-Barba had been appointed ambassador to Croatia in 2022, after being dismissed from his post as Secretary of State for the European Union due to his serious disagreements with José Manuel Albares. González-Barba's dismissal as ambassador to Zagreb was harshly criticized by the Association of Spanish Diplomats (ADE) and the People’s Party, who attributed Albares's decision to the former Secretary of State's publication of an opinion piece praising King Felipe VI. The article followed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' displeasure with the Royal Household for not informing it of King Felipe VI's intention not to attend the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral. In early February, the president of the ADE (Association of Foreign Affairs), Alberto Virella, denounced the "helplessness, arbitrariness, and fear of reprisals" faced by those who display "any type of critical comment or attitude" against the minister. He also denounced the "arbitrary" dismissals of Juan González-Barba, Alberto Antón in Belgium "after falling asleep during a speech by the minister," and Guillermo Kirkpatrick de la Vega in South Korea "for meeting with the president of the Community of Madrid," Isabel Díaz Ayuso. Albares responded to the ADE's accusations by stating, at a breakfast briefing organized by the Europa Press agency, that "the Ministry of Foreign Affairs follows the usual procedures in the appointment of ambassadors" and it is up to the Council of Ministers "to decide who is an ambassador." "There are no maximum or minimum deadlines for becoming an ambassador; we try to place the best person in each country in a specific context and with a specific mission," putting "political ideas aside," he continued. "Some of the ambassadors I chose are prominent figures in the People's Party," he stated. On February 25, José Manuel Albares accused the People's Party of "politicizing the diplomatic service" in response to a question in the Senate about the "removal of the ambassadors to Croatia, Belgium, and South Korea in less than three weeks."
