Stepping out of the shadows

Date: 12/12/1996

THE name Gil-Robles is well-known in Spain. It strikes less of a chord with European Parliament watchers.

That discrepancy is likely to disappear soon as Spanish Christian Democrat MEP José María Gil-Robles prepares to become the eighth president of the directly-elected Parliament.

For Spaniards, the family name carries with it strong resonances of decades of principled opposition to the Franco regime. A staunch Christian Democrat, Gil-Robles' father was an active politician and served as defence minister in the early Thirties.

The family was forced into exile under Franco and the young Gil-Robles spent his formative years (from the age of four to 17) in Estoril, Portugal.

It was a period which left a lasting mark on him. Rubbing shoulders with various refugees from across Europe, he developed an international outlook and a linguistic ability which blend easily in the multilingual European Parliament.

Gil-Robles is at home in five languages - Spanish, Portuguese, French, English and Italian - and over the past year and a half has begun learning a sixth: German.

“He is an atypical Spaniard in that he has a very cosmopolitan background and knows political life in other countries. He certainly does not come across as a spokesman for Spanish interests alone,” remarks one official.

Not everyone agrees. “By coincidence, the seating plan in the Parliament's bureau means that all three Spanish vice-presidents sit next to each other. They get on well together and are a very strong Spanish force in the bureau,” says one senior MEP.

Parliamentary observers are also waiting to see if Gil-Robles' internationalism will be strong enough to withstand pressures from Spain.

“I fear there may be tensions with the party machine in Madrid. It is tough and likes to centralise everything and he is a late arrival to the party,” confides one source.

Gil-Robles returned to Spain in 1952. He qualified as a lawyer and held a prestigious post in the Spanish parliament's legal service, developing a widespread knowledge of European parliamentary and constitutional issues.

It was not long before he followed in his father's political footsteps. In 1957, he joined the Spanish Association for European Cooperation and, unusually for a rightist politician of his generation, never held any political responsibility during the Franco regime.

While Gil-Robles followed his father's Christian Democratic leanings, younger brother Alvaro turned to the Socialist Party, eventually becoming Spain's first ombudsman.

But family loyalty is strong and remained intact even when José María did not support his brother's bid last year to become the first EU Ombudsman.

Domestically, Gil-Robles' aim was to create a Christian Democratic party throughout Spain. This ambition remained unfulfilled and, as the right-wing Popular Alliance refashioned itself by changing its name, in structure and programme it moved closer to Gil-Robles' centre-right political stance.

He joined the new Spanish People's Party and was elected to the European Parliament on its ticket in 1989.

“He has always been in the same place on the centre-right. He has never changed his position and he only joined the People's Party when it moved politically and Christian Democrats became members,” explains one colleague.

After seven years in the Parliament, Gil-Robles is now the European People's Party's (EPP) candidate for the presidency and the election on 14 January is a virtual formality.

The 61-year-old lawyer owes his recent prominence to the close understanding between Spanish and German MEPs in the EPP group.

“He is a serious and hard-working MEP, but he would not have been in the top ten selection if back-benchers had a totally open vote,” admits one member candidly.

The deal, and the agreement between the Parliament's two largest groups to rotate the two-and-a-half year presidency, has come in for fierce criticism.

Ironically, it is not the first time Gil-Robles has unwittingly been at the centre of a political storm in the Parliament. The first was just over two years ago when he found himself the victim of a mini-coup in the institutional affairs committee.

There are striking parallels between the two incidents.

This time round, Gil-Robles benefited from the Spanish-German alliance, which many believe was intended to propel former European Commissioner Abel Matutes into the presidency slot. Instead, he left the Parliament at Easter to become Spain's foreign minister.

In 1994, the institutional committee chairmanship became vacant when the incumbent, Marcelino Oreja - one of Gil-Robles' close personal friends and political allies - became a European Commissioner.

According to the complex formula used to divide up senior posts between different political groups and nationalities, the chairmanship was reserved for a Spanish Christian Democrat.

But, in a rare outburst of independence, a majority of the committee members rebelled against the imposition of Gil-Robles, who was not even a member. By 16 votes to 11, they selected the committee's vice-president, British Conservative MEP Derek Prag.

This act of defiance was, however, short-lived as senior MEPs, who abhorred any attempt to overturn their carefully-balanced apple cart, went round twisting arms. After a few weeks, Prag stepped down and Gil-Robles was finally voted in as chairman.

“There was never any nastiness afterwards. The mini-coup was not personal and not directed at Gil-Robles. He reacted with dignity during the whole episode. It was an attack on the system,” explains one of those involved in the rebellion.

Despite such an unfortunate start, Gil-Robles set out to master complex institutional issues and members testify to his competent chairmanship and ultimately firm grasp of the subject.

“As chairman, he was very firm and very diplomatic. When he proposed a certain course of action, he stuck to it.

He also represented the committee's views faithfully even if they did not coincide with his own,” recalls one.

When asked what he considers to be his main accomplishments as an MEP, Gil-Robles points to three achievements.

As a vice-president, he has handled potentially tense relations between the Parliament and the Council of Ministers over the Union budget.

He is also the author of the report setting out the role of the new EU Ombudsman, and successfully negotiated the terms of reference of the Parliament's special committees of inquiry with Union governments.

Supporters of Gil-Robles' bid for the presidency also point to his work on the rules committee, where he has handled most of the requests from national authorities to lift MEPs' immunity.

“He brings an interesting background to the post. As a vice-president and member of the rules and institutional affairs committees alongside handling the budget, he probably knows the institution as well as any member,” says one senior MEP.

One parliamentary official who has observed Gil-Robles at close quarters for several years is convinced he has become more assertive.

“There is no doubt that he has become much more active recently. He is more incisive and has handled very skilfully rather delicate subjects such as the MEPs' pension fund,” he explains.

Despite holding prominent positions in the Parliament for several years, colleagues and officials alike admit they know little about the man behind the politician.

“He is a very private and discreet person. He is not shy, he just does not talk about his private life. But he is very determined when it is necessary. He prefers to work behind the scenes and does not seek publicity,” explains one official.

The presidential nominee used to enjoy relaxing over a game of bridge or sailing his small boat in the Mediterranean. But as his parliamentary duties have increased, he has found little time for either and the boat has been sold.

Gil-Robles has never fully managed to step out of his father's lengthy shadow. Even as a student, his academic record was always compared to Gil-Robles senior's reputation and achievements.

Now he has a major opportunity to be judged solely on his own performance.