<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong>The Senate Plenary approved this Wednesday a motion from the People's Party (PP) Parliamentary Group urging the Government to guarantee the "depoliticization" of the appointments of members of the Diplomatic Service and to prioritize "merit and experience as fundamental principles in the representation of Spain abroad," following the recent controversy generated by the dismissal of three ambassadors by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares.</strong></h4> The text, whose approval was guaranteed in advance by the absolute majority enjoyed by the People's Party (PP) in the Upper House, was passed as per its terms with 145 votes in favor (the vast majority from the PP, as well as Vox and UPN), 99 against (86 from the PSOE and the rest from the Confederal Left, PNV, and BNG), and ten abstentions. The motion asserts that “Spain's foreign policy has experienced a serious deterioration in recent years due to the absence of a clear and defined strategy on the part of the Government” and “erratic decisions, a lack of internal consensus, and continued improvisation,” which “have weakened our country's international position, affecting its credibility and capacity for influence in multilateral forums.” The text denounces the “worrying” lack of leadership on the part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the “lack of a coherent foreign policy,” which “has generated uncertainty in our relations with the European Union, the United States, and Ibero-American countries.” Examples of this, it continues, include “the management of diplomatic crises with key neighbors, such as Morocco and Algeria,” which “has been deficient, putting Spain's energy and territorial security at risk.” “Unilateral decisions, such as the unexpected shift on Western Sahara without a clear strategy, have led to unnecessary conflicts that directly affect national interests,” it adds. The motion also denounces "an alarming lack of foresight and commitment" in the area of security and defense and the lack of "a clear roadmap" or "concrete measures" to guarantee funding for the commitment to allocate two percent of GDP to defense spending. "Foreign policy cannot be a tool for internal government management or an instrument of partisan interests," and for this reason, "Spain needs to recover a diplomacy based on consensus, predictability, and the defense of its national interests," the text continues. Therefore, the motion expresses "its rejection of the Spanish Government's foreign policy for lacking internal cohesion and basic consensus, which weakens its international credibility and projects an image of inconsistency and unreliability on the global stage" and urges the Spanish Government to "promote dialogue, agreements, and debate among the different political groups to reach a common position on state affairs that affect foreign policy" (this point was completely eliminated in the amendment presented by Vox, without explaining why). Likewise, the text urges the Government to "guarantee respect for the independence and professionalism of the members of the Diplomatic Service, ensuring the depoliticization of appointments and prioritizing merit and experience as fundamental principles in representing Spain abroad," and to "strengthen and modernize the consular network, providing it with the necessary resources to improve its efficiency and capacity to serve citizens and the country's strategic interests." The past. On February 25, Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares accused the Popular Party of “politicizing the diplomatic career” in response to a question in the Senate about the “dismissal of the ambassadors to Croatia, Belgium, and South Korea in less than three weeks,” referring, respectively, to Juan González-Barba, who, according to the PP, was dismissed “immediately after publishing an opinion piece in the press praising King Felipe VI; Alberto Antón, dismissed “after falling asleep during a speech by the minister; and Guillermo Kirkpatrick de la Vega, dismissed “for meeting with the president of the Community of Madrid,” Isabel Díaz Ayuso. That debate came after the president of the Association of Spanish Diplomats (ADE), Alberto Virella, denounced the “helplessness, arbitrariness, and fear of reprisals” faced by those who display “any type of critical comment or attitude” toward the minister.
