A lawsuit has been filed against the Government for alleged malfeasance in the appointment of a driver.

PalmA career civil servant driver has filed a lawsuit against Prohens' chief of staff, the Minister of the Presidency, the director of the Balearic School of Public Administration (EBAP), and the driver who allegedly obtained the position of personal driver for the President of the Government fraudulently. According to the lawsuit for alleged crimes of malfeasance and influence peddling, filed last September and obtained by ARA Baleares, the affected career civil servant, who entered the public administration through competitive examinations more than twenty years ago, is accused by members of the aforementioned Presidency driver's office of hiring someone with no prior driving experience.

As the complaint states, the person who was ultimately awarded the position is also a relative of the head of the president's office. Therefore, it is suspected that the allegedly fraudulent process for awarding the position was designed to benefit a close relative. In this regard, the complainant accuses the head of the office in question of manipulating the recruitment process, which was initially conducted through a SOIB (Balearic Islands Employment Service) selection process for a driver position for the President's office, specifically for the auxiliary medical staff, including ladder truck and driver.

From a position filled through a competitive merit-based process to one filled by direct appointment

Among the approximately 200 applicants was a relative of Prohens' chief of staff, who was not the top-ranked candidate. It was at this point, according to the complaint, that a surprising modification to the competition rules was made. A new requirement was introduced: applicants had to submit their resumes along with the other documents already submitted. The new rules also stipulated that the proposed appointment of the temporary civil servant would be made. Thus, according to the complaint, the rules initially established for filling the driver position were altered, changing it from a merit-based competition to a position filled by direct appointment.

However, it should be noted that, in addition to the alleged illegal hiring of the relative, the president's chief of staff reportedly gathered the five drivers assigned to the Presidency to inform them that they would now be working for the Ministry of the Presidency and not for the president herself. This allegedly caused the complainant to become depressed, as, according to the complainant, given his seniority and experience—having been a driver for both José Ramón Bauzá and Francina Armengol—he had a strong chance of filling the position.

Accident of the driver allegedly hired illegally

However, the complaint notes that a relative of the chief of staff, hired nearly two years ago, was involved in an accident with the presidential vehicle, which was declared a total loss and in which no other car was involved.

The government denies any wrongdoing in the process

For its part, the Government has denied any irregularities in the procedure for filling the position in question. Government sources have indicated that, at the moment, they have no knowledge of the lawsuit and have reiterated that the driver position in question was awarded following the standard procedure. Government spokesperson Antoni Costa insisted at the press conference following the Cabinet meeting that the hiring process was "absolutely transparent and in accordance with current legislation." He also stated that the driver who was hired is a relative of Prohens's chief of staff, specifically a fourth-degree relative by blood. Furthermore, he indicated that neither the Government, nor the President, nor he himself have any knowledge of the lawsuit and have not yet been able to read it. "To be able to assess it, we need to be able to read it," he said. The position in question, according to Costa, was a freely appointed position selected from a pool for a temporary replacement, which, he reiterated, the Government considers to be in accordance with the ordinary procedure in these cases. When asked about the accident suffered by the driver with an official car, the spokesperson stated that "obviously" the Government knew it had happened and that the vehicle was totaled. "But it's an accident," he said, while downplaying its significance, emphasizing that "there are other councilors whose drivers haven't had an accident, but rather a minor collision," and that although "it's not desirable," it's not an "extraordinary" occurrence either.