The former Vice President of the Government Pablo Iglesias has denounced his exclusion from the selection process for a position as Associate Professor of Political Science and Administration due to lack of experience related to the subject. In a Twitter thread, the former leader of Podemos has criticized that both he and the other five candidates have been ruled out by the evaluating court to access the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM).
The center's Selection Commission, chaired by Professor of Political Theory Javier Franzé, has argued that two of the applicants had not justified payment of the mandatory fees, while the rest did not meet two fundamental requirements. According to the court, Pablo Iglesias and three other candidates have not accredited "exercising their professional activity outside the academic field" in the matter related to the position nor have they demonstrated "a minimum of three years of effective professional experience" in this same field outside of university activity.
"It seems that in this case the court has not seen fit to evaluate the merits of any of us who presented ourselves," Iglesias, who led Podemos from 2014 to 2021, lamented in a tweet. For the former Second Vice President and former Minister of Rights Social Affairs and the 2030 Agenda (a position he held between 2020 and 2021), it is a "strange and completely infrequent" decision to exclude all candidates who, as he has stated, have "professional experience and accredited teaching".
The application process to become an associate professor at the Complutense was open from July 8 to 22, when Iglesias made the request. As detailed in the announcement, the position was aimed at a professional profile with "experience in consulting political analysis" and with a teaching activity focused on "modern and contemporary political theories and forms" and "the formation of political theory". When assessing the merits of the applicants, the bases provided for a maximum of six points for accredited professional experience, three for teaching and research experience and one point reserved for “other merits”.
