In the corridors of the new headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Madrid, discomfort, restlessness and concern have been felt since Algeria announced on Wednesday the rupture of the Friendship Treaty and the subsequent suspension of commercial operations with Spain.
The members of the diplomatic career also feel helpless, since they consider that the crisis could be seen coming and, therefore, it was avoidable. "After the turn in Spain's position on Western Sahara, Algeria was waiting for the moment to react with a good tantrum," a Ministry official tells ABC, while adding that Pedro Sánchez put it on a platter last Tuesday, when he stated that the decision to position himself with Morocco was something "positive". Algeria then saw the opportunity
to release the fury contained since March, when Spain positioned itself in favor of Morocco on the issue of Western Sahara to make peace with its main enemy.
“The general feeling is that Albares's days are numbered. Everything will depend on how the Andalusian elections go, but he is very burnt out. And he also has an unscrupulous boss to cut off the head of whoever he is. They charged Carmen Calvo, José Luis Ábalos... people with much more weight than Albares", explains another diplomat from the Ministry, who considers that the still head of Spanish diplomacy has a very political profile and that "he has practically no experience as a diplomat»: «If Sánchez had left the Ministry in charge of a real diplomat, we would not be in this situation».
The same is the opinion of another veteran diplomat who is on a mission abroad, who acknowledges that maintaining a balance with Morocco and Algeria "is first-rate in diplomacy and is as basic as knowing that you have to take care of both": "You have to pamper both countries, but a little more to Morocco. It is what all governments, ministers and diplomats have done for years, ”explains the same source. A "very old, but always works" tactic, especially if it is complemented by maintaining very fluid conversations with both parties and the manners of an exquisite and experienced diplomat. And it is that "in the Ministry people are not even against the turn of Spain in the Sahara -because everyone understands that perhaps it is something that has to be done and that it makes sense-, the main problem has been how it has been done » warns this diplomat. And he repeats: «This technique has no mystery and it is not a science, but it does require an experience that Albares does not have».
Inocencio Arias, a retired diplomat, who was a counselor at the Algerian embassy, says that "the incredible thing is that there has been such a colossal lack of foresight" and that this crisis "is going to cost us a lot." He clarifies that "this is not cataclysmic, but it is a very serious issue." He appreciates that although Albares "is neither Metternich nor Kissinger", he is sure that "at some point he warned his master that this crisis could be looming". «He must have told her something and his young lady looked the other way. Why has he looked elsewhere? This is the mystery, because Sánchez is not an idiot, "concludes Arias.
A colleague still active ventures to go a little further and points out that the Pegasus eavesdropping could be related "to the sudden way - without consulting his party, Parliament, his Government and the King - of siding with of Morocco on the Sahara issue. It is very serious, especially because it has also not had the support of any party in the chamber.
In the Ministry, the feeling is also one of regression, as if one had gone back a year. "It seems like a reissue of what happened with Morocco," reflects a newly arrived diplomat in the race. He appreciates that Algeria "could perfectly follow Morocco's instruction manual." It takes a short time, but he agrees with the most veterans that "the administration of Albares is extremely personal and despotic" and that the Ministry has very experienced diplomats to whom it could delegate, but it does not do so because "it only trusts its small core of trust.
Precisely, secrecy and shadow decision-making are the two deadly sins of Albares. He kept secret Spain's historic turn on the issue of recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara. "Sánchez may be involved in the substantive decision, but the forms matter almost the same, and that channel belongs to Albares," adds an ambassador, who summarizes everything to a mere question of "diplomatic management": "It has been invented for a long time but there are many people specialized in doing these things, who have been dedicated to it for years, but you need a minister who lets people work».
