Galloping with the Science Act and the Space Council's inclusive language
Attention! light step! ar! exclaimed from Moncloa. Some astonished male and female characters who, due to their youth, have not done their military service, open their eyes like saucers, frown and, without quite understanding what this "paso ligero" is all about, start running.
What has happened? Well, the Ministry of Science and Innovation, headed by Diana Morant, has to abandon the contemplative life it has led until now and get down to the business of laying the legal bricks of the building that is to give life to the Spanish Space Agency one on top of another.
Is she going to do it? She has no choice. Today, Thursday 23 June, the plenary session of the Congress of Deputies will vote on what is to be the new Science Law. And, barring any last-minute setbacks, it is likely to be approved, and with it, the article that gives way to the creation of the National Space Agency.
And what happens from now on? Well, let's gallop! But make no mistake. In the Ministry of Scientific Science, in view of what is coming their way, they have followed the most refined of national administrative techniques: they have created a Commission. In this case it is called the Space Council, which is the figure to which they have foisted the matter.
The Space Council took shape and form on 15 June. On that date, the Official State Gazette published the Royal Decree creating it and regulating its composition and functioning. The author of the legal text leaves no room for doubt and clarifies that the Space Council is "a group" - not two or three, just one - but interministerial and collegiate.
What do the members of the Council have to do? Well, they have to draw up the statutes and the initial action plan for the future national space agency. But the Executive introduces an extremely important nuance. What is it? No more and no less than that their duty is to "accelerate the constitution and implementation of the public body". Key word: "accelerate". There is a hurry... and a lot of it. The President of the Government said on 9 June that he wants the Agency to be "operational at the beginning of 2023". And his wishes are orders.
And what does the Council have to advise? Well, it has to draft a first report on the functions and competences that will correspond to the Agency and a second on its statutes and initial action plan. But neither of the two will be binding, as the Royal Decree makes clear.
But that is not all. The astute drafter of the legal norm assigns a third responsibility to the Space Council. It reads: "And any other functions which, within the scope of the Council's own competences, are attributed to it". In other words, two specific responsibilities and a catch-all.
There is no doubt that the author of the Royal Decree is an eminent specialist in law and in inclusive language. When defining the composition of the Council, he or she does not want to leave the slightest doubt as to the nature of its members. A clarifying example. It is textually stated that the Space Council will be made up of "a person representing the Ministry of Science and Innovation, with at least the rank of Directorate General, who will be appointed by the head of that department".
Note the high level of intellect and detail in the sentence. It is made clear that the representative of the Ministry of Science - as is also expressed later for the members appointed by the departments of Defence, Transport, Industry... - must be a "person", not some other kind of vertebrate or invertebrate specimen.
I reiterate. The draftsman is very careful to point out that those selected to form the Space Council must be people and not other vertebrate or invertebrate beings, such as dogs, cats, horses, donkeys, cockroaches, or mosquitoes. Nor extraterrestrial beings. And it goes even further. In its superior mental conception, it specifies that those elected must have the minimum rank of "directorate general", not director or director general.
Attention civil servants of the General State Administration. It seems that the post of director general does not exist, but rather that of "director general". So when greeting them in the corridor, they should not say, for example, "hello director", but "hello directorate"! It is likely that a ministerial order to this effect will be published shortly.
More news. The Royal Decree, instead of stating that the person selected will be appointed by the minister of the department, clarifies that he or she will be chosen by "the person" in charge of the department. Apparently, there is a Martian, chicken or kangaroo minister and we Spaniards have not realised...
But there is more. The Royal Decree also states, verbatim: "The persons who form part of the Space Council may be replaced by a person representing the same ministerial department, body or agency, appointed by the head of the department, with a minimum rank of sub-directorate general".
Please understand. The sentence is confusing, but it makes it clear that no one on the Space Council can be replaced by a monkey, sheep or deer. As you can see, the current Executive is made up of specimens of a very high intellectual level, who are trying to prevent camels, cows or chickens from gaining access to the highest positions in the State Administration. Although I thought I saw on television that the odd turkey was wandering around Moncloa.