Director of Tourism removed from position, “not deprived of right to stand for election,” says Government

According to Sovereign Order published in the Journal de Monaco on November 24, 2017, Guillaume Rose, Director of the Tourism and Convention Office of Monaco, has lost his job.

The decree No. 6.678, relating to the transferring of an official, stated, “Mr. Guillaume Rose, Director of Tourism and Congress, is transferred, in the interests of service, as Technical Advisor to the Directorate of Human Resources and Training of Public Service.”

The move comes after Mr Rose was named as an official candidate on the Primo! party list for the national elections, which take place February 11, 2018.

Prince Albert, having considered the deliberation of the Council of Government on November 23, as presented by the Minister of State, felt, by order of decree, that Mr Rose’s position was a conflict of interest.

Primo! is the party set up by Stéphane Valeri, who was President of the Conseil National from 2003 to 2010. He was then appointed Minister of Health and Social Affairs by Prince Albert in 2010, and resigned from this post on May 24 of this year.

Mr Rose, 48, was appointed Director on October 15, 2011. At the time, he was a national councillor – Chairman of the Social Interests and Diverse Business Committee – which he had held since 2008. (He lost his seat by election in 2013.)

On Sunday, November 26, the Government issued a press statement on taking issue with reports that Mr Rose has been deprived of his rights to stand for election.

The statement read: “Contrary to what has been communicated, Guillaume Rose is not being deprived of the right to stand for election in the Monegasque polls.

“During the campaign period, he is in a position to free himself from his obligation to refrain from political activities, which is imposed upon members of the senior civil service, of which he is a member.

“It is surprising that he should express his surprise, while his attention was repeatedly drawn to his situation and that solutions had been proposed to him.

“Mr Rose could have avoided being transferred in the interest of the service (with the retention of his full salary) if he had opted for one of the several proposals that had been made to him, namely to take leave for exceptional or personal reasons. He could also have been released from his obligations while retaining his title and salary.

“The measures that apply to him are not personal or as a target on a list, but rather they correspond to the impartiality expected of members of the senior civil service, which apply in all similar situations.”

It’s a race to the 2018 elections. Unlike the French elections, in Monaco there is only one round of voting, for which any Monegasque over the age 18 can cast a ballot.

Seats are attributed by a mixture of “first past the post” and proportional representation, that is 16 seats out of the total 24 are attributed to the party that receives the majority, and the remaining 8 seats by proportional representation.

Article first published November 25, 2017.

Stéphane Valeri moves on