111
aspiration of CSIC to have the IAC under its wing. Such are the human foibles arising from competition, envy, and the lust for power.
The development of the IAC was initiated by the Royal Decree of 15
October 1982, which specified its competencies, functions, and organic structure. Noteworthy for the time was the contracting by the Consortium of noncivil servants. Furthermore, an employment grade for researchers, equivalent
to that within CSIC, was created. With these arrangements the IAC became
very free and agile, with a structure closely resembling that of a business with
its own administrative body (the Governing Council) and a kind of deputy
(the Director). It was inevitable that this should cause alarm and unease in the
archaic scientific echelons of the Administration.
President Calvo-Sotelo was obliged to bring forward the elections, which
were held on 28 October 1982. Felipe González’s PSOE won by a large majority. Javier Moscoso occupied the Ministry of the Presidency of the Government
and was therefore also the President of the IAC. It must be admitted that
being answerable directly to the Presidency of the Government had been a
great advantage and allowed the swift development of the Institute and its
Observatories. I have fond memories of how well attended and treated we
were there during Moscoso’s mandate, especially by his Office Director, Pilar
de la Torre, and by the head of the Budget Office of the Presidency of the
Government, Julián Martín Arias—names not to be forgotten.
Our story now takes us to 1985 and the splendid inaugurations of the
Institute’s Observatories. This event put the IAC in the limelight, for both
good and ill, and raised yet further hackles. It turned out that Professor
Maravall, then Minister for Education, Universities, and Research, had envious designs, as he himself would tell me years later, with the result that, in a
new Law of Science then being drafted, it was decided to bring the IAC within
his ministerial fold.
The draft of this law reached the Council of Ministers on three occasions,
with the intention of detaching the IAC from the Ministry of the Presidency
and placing it under the wing of Education, Universities, and Research, thereby
reducing it to one CSIC institute more and destroying its status as an autonomous consortium. Minister Moscoso had on a number of occasions managed
to foil the manoeuvre. We were relieved when the law was sent to Parliament
free from this amendment and voted through in Congress. But when the bill
was sent for the Senate’s approval, it was the socialists themselves (surprise,
surprise) who introduced an amendment to give Maravall what he coveted.
We found ourselves suddenly at the cliff’s edge, but we did not yield. We
fought with astuteness and courage, winning over the public and Canarian
politicians of all parties to our side. The Canarian socialists were key players;
12 Science Meets Politics…
aspiration of CSIC to have the IAC under its wing. Such are the human foibles arising from competition, envy, and the lust for power.
The development of the IAC was initiated by the Royal Decree of 15
October 1982, which specified its competencies, functions, and organic structure. Noteworthy for the time was the contracting by the Consortium of noncivil servants. Furthermore, an employment grade for researchers, equivalent
to that within CSIC, was created. With these arrangements the IAC became
very free and agile, with a structure closely resembling that of a business with
its own administrative body (the Governing Council) and a kind of deputy
(the Director). It was inevitable that this should cause alarm and unease in the
archaic scientific echelons of the Administration.
President Calvo-Sotelo was obliged to bring forward the elections, which
were held on 28 October 1982. Felipe González’s PSOE won by a large majority. Javier Moscoso occupied the Ministry of the Presidency of the Government
and was therefore also the President of the IAC. It must be admitted that
being answerable directly to the Presidency of the Government had been a
great advantage and allowed the swift development of the Institute and its
Observatories. I have fond memories of how well attended and treated we
were there during Moscoso’s mandate, especially by his Office Director, Pilar
de la Torre, and by the head of the Budget Office of the Presidency of the
Government, Julián Martín Arias—names not to be forgotten.
Our story now takes us to 1985 and the splendid inaugurations of the
Institute’s Observatories. This event put the IAC in the limelight, for both
good and ill, and raised yet further hackles. It turned out that Professor
Maravall, then Minister for Education, Universities, and Research, had envious designs, as he himself would tell me years later, with the result that, in a
new Law of Science then being drafted, it was decided to bring the IAC within
his ministerial fold.
The draft of this law reached the Council of Ministers on three occasions,
with the intention of detaching the IAC from the Ministry of the Presidency
and placing it under the wing of Education, Universities, and Research, thereby
reducing it to one CSIC institute more and destroying its status as an autonomous consortium. Minister Moscoso had on a number of occasions managed
to foil the manoeuvre. We were relieved when the law was sent to Parliament
free from this amendment and voted through in Congress. But when the bill
was sent for the Senate’s approval, it was the socialists themselves (surprise,
surprise) who introduced an amendment to give Maravall what he coveted.
We found ourselves suddenly at the cliff’s edge, but we did not yield. We
fought with astuteness and courage, winning over the public and Canarian
politicians of all parties to our side. The Canarian socialists were key players;
12 Science Meets Politics…