Last night’s GBC exclusive story on the appointment of Michael Llamas as Gibraltar’s new Attorney General designate, raises a whole battery of questions (and eyebrows), and draws attention to underlying grey areas that the powers that be ought to be answering and shedding light on, as a matter of urgency. It was no secret that Llamas was the Government’s preferred choice, and that this would be a fully and gloriously fledged ‘dedazo’ appointment that would circumvent accountable and transparent selection procedures as are commonly applied in democratic countries. Gibraltar has been rife with rumour all throughout last year, regarding Mr Llamas and his close political ties with the Government. Let us not forget that although technically a civil servant of sorts, Mr Llamas has discharged political functions on behalf of the Chief Minister, has participated in political seminars that are far removed from the activity of a legal counsel, and engaged in political activities far removed from any role or responsibility undertaken by current Attorney General Ricky Rhoda or any previous incumbent. If there were already concerns being expressed in all quarters of society from top to bottom about this, including among both GSLP and GSD supporters, the confirmation of Mr Llamas’ fast-track appointment to the 400k a year position, will have revived the controversy and done little to assuage the disquiet that had been originally provoked when such a possibility was first mooted. It certainly raises constitutional issues regarding the separation of powers, a principle which must be absolutely and scrupulously adhered, as the independence of the judiciary and the non interference of the political process in judicial appointments must remain a sacrosanct value in any credible democracy. The manner of Llamas’ appointment would, regrettably, appear to blur these distinctions and also offer an early warning sign of what may be in store by way of style of government, in the hypothetical event of a second GSLP term of office. Another interesting development thrown up by the Llamas affair, has been the conspicuous silence by the Leader of the Opposition, who in normal circumstances judging by previous form, would have seized the opportunity and wasted no time in expressing his condemnation. But who knows. Maybe we are in for a new era of cross-party political goodwill in Gibraltar and this is the first practical result of the Government-Opposition rapprochement following the famous Picardo-Feetham Christmas embrace on GBC’s Viewpoint, and the rumblings of a political truce. La casta, la casta, as our friends to the north would say...
Posted on: Thu, 22 Jan 2015 17:30:04 +0000
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