Antich has shuffled half his pack in past three years

NEARLY half the senior figures set up three years ago in the Balearic government of Socialist President Francesc Antich have either left their posts or have changed their jobs.

Of the original 96 staff manning ministries, secretariats and technical departments, 40 have either “had to go” or gone to other positions.
Although the greatest number of government posts were affected when the Socialists broke their governing pact with the Majorcan Unionist party in February this year, the Socialist (PSOE) party has also been affected through cuts and mergers - there are now four ministries less than there were three years ago: Civil Service, Education, Employment which has now merged with Tourism, and Agriculture which has been eliminated altogether. All the senior figures in Agriculture apart from one have been reallocated to the Ministry for the President's Office.

It is indeed the Ministry for the President's Office that has been gathering political strength over the years, but for different reasons losing its Director of Public Administration, Miquel Nadal Moya; Project Director, Francesc Galvez and Gina Garcias, Communications Director. The Ministry has now embraced Diego Gonzalez, who originally began as Health and Consumer Affairs, as Sports Director.

Only the Ministry for Social Affairs and the Ministry for Transport (which now assumes the major part of the powers of the Environment Ministry) have kept the senior figures who assumed power in 2007.