The Diplomat
The Board of Directors of the Association of Spanish Diplomats (ADE) has expressed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs its opposition to the fact that, for the appointment of ambassadors, instead of presenting a ‘terna’ (list of three) of candidates to the head of the department, “a short list” should be presented, as it is understood that this could favour the adoption of criteria that are not strictly professional in the final decision.
The ADE’s reservation, to which The Diplomat had access, has been included in the observations made on the latest draft of the Diplomatic Career Regulations drawn up by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Specifically, the disagreement refers to the modification made so that the working group in charge of proposing possible ambassadorial candidates to the minister, instead of presenting a ‘terna’ (three names), will present a “short list”. The working group is chaired by the head of the Under-Secretariat and the heads of the ministries and the minister’s cabinet, who make a non-binding proposal, as the final decision always rests with the minister.
ADE advocates maintaining the ‘terna’, as it considers that it allows for a more accurate assessment of the merits of the most qualified candidates for the post in question. On the other hand, it stresses that “short list is an undefined concept, as a short list of three is as short as a short list of ten”.
He also points out that opting for a ‘short list’ can make the process more difficult and undesirably lengthy, and that, in his opinion, it “disables the ability of the selection body to apply objective and measurable criteria” and “shifts the bulk of the decision to the head of the Ministry, while allowing non-strictly professional criteria to be present in the process more easily”.
With all this,” it warns, “the sought-after objectification of merits and appointment criteria would suffer”.
