The dispute for a chauffeur position in the Balearic Government has ended up in court and has put the focus on the office of the Presidency. There, according to the complaint filed by a civil servant with decades of service, an “illegal, unfair and arbitrary” plan would have been developed to favor the relative of Marga Prohens’ chief of staff. The document links this appointment with the total loss in 2024 of the official Lexus driven by the selected young man.
A process with more than 200 applicants
The complainant, a civil servant driver since 2008, claims that the position was opened in October 2023 to temporarily reinforce the service, with more than 200 applicants registered in the offer. Among them was the relative of Alejandro Jurado, chief of staff of Prohens, who did not get the best score in the initial phase of baremación.
The complaint states that, after learning of these results, the rules were modified to require the submission of a curriculum vitae and allow the General Secretariat to choose “the most suitable person”. In the official’s opinion, this variation transformed the competition into a disguised free appointment.
An internal instruction that changed the course
The brief filed with the courts details that the instruction approved on November 21, 2023 allowed the criteria of the initial call published in the BOIB to be reinterpreted.
According to the complaint, the instruction was applied “unfairly and arbitrarily” to alter the order marked by the merits and favor the relative of the Chief of Staff. The court will have to determine whether this change could have been made while the procedure was already underway.
Accident as a suitability argument
The complaint also includes the total loss of the official Lexus, which occurred in the spring of 2024, when the driver lost control at a traffic circle with wet asphalt.
The president was not in the vehicle, which was returning after dropping her off at Palma airport. The official uses this episode to argue that the selected driver “did not have the necessary merits or experience”, and that the accident serves as an example of the alleged lack of suitability.
A Lexus with a political route
The accident vehicle was a black Lexus purchased in 2019 by the Department of Labor, Trade and Industry for 39,796 euros, including taxes.
It had been used in the previous legislature by the socialist ex-councilor Iago Negueruela and was assigned to the Presidency service when it suffered the accident. The car was declared a total loss, a fact that the civil servant provides in his complaint to reinforce his story.
Driver relocation and labor deterioration
The complainant claims that, after the incorporation of the new driver, he and another driver were removed from the direct service of the Presidency and transferred to the Conselleria, which would have meant a worsening of their working conditions. The letter indicates that the civil servant has an anxious-depressive condition.
More responsible parties identified
The complaint not only targets the chief of staff. The letter also mentions the Councilor of the Presidency, Antònia Maria Estarellas, and the director of the Balearic School of Public Administration (EBAP), María Violeta Rodríguez.
The complainant claims that both participated in or endorsed key decisions that allowed the process to be modified. He considers that the facts could constitute crimes of prevarication and influence peddling.
While waiting for the court to decide whether to admit the complaint, the Govern reminds that the accident caused no injuries and that the president was not in the vehicle.
There have been no official assessments so far on the allegations related to the selection process, which could force the Executive to provide internal documentation if proceedings are opened.
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