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The current dean of the Madrid Bar Association (ICAM), José María Alonso, in the end he will not run for re-election. This was announced today by José María Alonso – only three months after the elections, predictably on December 20 – in a appearance in which he attributed his decision to strictly personal reasons and denied that it was due to “political pressure”. Alonso assured that these resignations “were Probably the hardest decision I’ve had to make in my life. ” and which caused “a lot of frustration and anxiety”.
The step by the ICAM dean opens up the field of possible candidates because, as he himself said, some possible candidates had made him understand that if he had opted for re-election “they would not stand” in the elections.
“I’ve had it for a long time an internal struggle to decide if I should show up or not, ”acknowledged Alonso. “Being a principal is a full-time dedication,” he explained before referring to the college as “a monster” which manages almost 80 million euros “and requires, if you want to do well, exclusive dedication”.
“I have not received a single pressure”
The still dean of Madrid lawyers denied having been forced to renounce re-election due to external pressure. “Absolutely no one, inside or outside the College, pressured me not to show up. I have not received a single pressure, on the contrary ”. In fact, he explained that in the recent opening ceremony of the judicial year “everyone insisted that I introduce myself”.
He leaves, therefore, “for strictly personal and family reasons”, even if he has left the door open to carry out an institutional job as director of the General Council of Lawyers, of which he is now first vice president. “It’s a very honorable situation, but permanent voltage. You have to be sitting in that chair to know what it is “. “I have spent 80% of my time here in the last five years. Being a legal consultant doesn’t involve more than 10% of the time, ”she said.
The decision, he insisted, was not easy: “For me it is an inner tear because I have a very high sense of responsibility that has led me to continue working for the College ”. “There comes a time in life – she added – when you have to make a decision, because maybe you have to pay more attention to what you have been abandoning for 41 years”.
Elections, without electronic voting
And despite having pulled out his head for having completed his program, he confessed to having two objectives to achieve: that the Ministry of Justice, without recognizing the office shift and the free defense of legal persons – “it is inadmissible that the colleagues who have that the assistance of legal persons without resources is not paid. It is not a legal question, because the Community pays and the Ministry does not ”- and that the Legal Profession has not yet entered the Directive Chamber of the High Court of Justice of Madrid.
As indicated, the ICAM board of directors will call elections on 5 October, which will take place on 20 December. Of course, it will not be possible to vote electronically because “Did not give time” to establish electronic voting. First, on October 27, the deadline for meeting candidates to lead Spain’s largest Bar Association will expire. The principal is in favor of voting at the school “and not in a hotel”.
Alonso refused to rule in favor of any candidate. “Without knowing who will show up, I won’t say anything at all.. Everyone will have my respect, but now I will not pronounce myself, “she said, opting for caution.
In the announcement of his dismissal (he still has three months of management ahead of him), the still dean recalled that in 2017 he set out to “manage the College in an ethical and transparent way”. “The electoral program is a contract and must be respected. If these proposals are not met, that contract is violated ”, he underlined before making a long summary of the main achievements of his management at the helm of ICAM. “I feel enormously satisfied,” he said in relation to his tenure.
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