Don't blame the Partido Popular for Bob Houliston crossing the Council Chamber!

Councillor Bob Houliston

There has been a tremendous amount written in the last few months and weeks, including some by myself, about the relationship of CLARO Councillor, Bob Houliston with his former tripartite (Partido Socialista Obrero Español, Los Verdes and Centro Liberal Renovador) government colleagues and the Partido Popular opposition of the Orihuela Town Council.

Since his election as the first CLARO Councillor in May 2011 we have read of; his greedily accepted appointment as Councillor for the Coast, Beaches and International Residents, independent of his CLR/CLARO election list coalition agreement; expulsion from the CLR/CLARO group on the Town Council; reduction of his duties as Councillor for the coastal area of the Orihuela municipal by the Mayor; his resignation as Councillor for the Coast; his threats to vote with the PP opposition in the Pleno (Town Council Meeting); his crossing, metaphorically, of the Council Chamber floor when during the Pleno on the 29^th March 2012 he voted with the opposition in a vote of no confidence against the Alcalde's (Mayor) decision to cease with the position of Councillor for the Coast.

His actions have put the future of the tripartite government in jeopardy. The electorate that voted for the parties of the coalition are, naturally, looking for someone or some group to lay the blame upon for the current situation and the uncertainty for the future of Orihuela.

Ultimately almost all the blame falls fairly and squarely upon the head of Bob Houliston. But there are others who must bear some of the resentment.

The next possible candidates could be the members, the electorate who voted for them, and the elected Councillors of the PP. However I don't blame them for Bob Houliston crossing the chamber. I accept the opportunistic strategy they have adopted in capitalising on the opening given to them on plate by him and others.

Those who created Councillor Bob Houliston must all share their portion of blame!

Having said this I don't think one should include his parents and family as they couldn't have known how their offspring would develop seventy plus years later.

The spotlight should shine on the following conspirators. All of them in varying degrees of complicity acted in a Frankensteinian manner and created the monster, a CLARO Councillor, that by natural selection would not have been brought to life. Having created him, like Dr Frankenstein with his version, the creators have lost control of their prodigy! It didn't surprise me.

Firstly the members and executive committee of the CLARO party who for the last six years, since the 2006 conception of the party, have allowed themselves to be fooled by the public relations deluge, a lot of it being economical with the truth, from Bob Houliston and his closest allies as to the future power and influence of the party lead by him. The levels of his egocentrism were amazing. Were the party members being naïve in their belief that Bob Houliston as a CLARO Councillor would be the panacea to all problems in Orihuela Costa?  Yes!

Secondly Clr. Pedro Mancebo, the leader, and his executive committee of the CLR party. Without them the possibility of life would not have existed for a CLARO Councillor, the monster would have remained lifeless. It would not have been born as there would not have been enough life force (votes) from CLARO supporters power base alone. Because of the CLR's own desire for extra political power (councillors) it entered into a bipartite coalition election group with CLARO in the hope of gaining a transfusion of their votes. By placing CLARO nominees low in the election list I believe they hoped for the votes but didn't really want a CLARO Councillor. They miscalculated and some of the power surge went the wrong way. It went from CLR to CLARO. The monster's heart received its life blood, it started to beat and it drew its first breath. They helped to create a creature that they later found they could not control.

Thirdly Councillor Monserrate Guillén, leader of the LV party, who is currently holding the position of Alcalde (Mayor). Having been appointed; or is it more accurate to say assumed by default as the lesser of three options ('evils' is too strong a word); as Mayor he gave an additional surge of power to Bob Houliston by appointing him Councillor for Orihuela Costa. This was done without consultation with, the life giving, CLR/CLARO group leader. This added fuel to what I believe are NPD (Narcissistic personality disorder) tendencies of BH. Having realised what he had done, the Alcalde has shown his green party credentials by recycling ('changing' to non-environmentalists) time and time again his decisions on the responsibilities of the Councillor for the Coast, in order to alter and reduce the power of this position, depending who was shouting loudest.

A megalomaniac has the desire for power and more power. Bertrand Russell in his interpretation of megalomania is reported as saying: "The megalomaniac differs from the narcissist by the fact that he wishes to be powerful rather than charming, and seeks to be feared rather than loved” Little did those responsible, in particular Pedro Mancebo and Monserrate Guillén, for the current political situation in the Orihuela Town Council realise at the time (hindsight is an excellent quality) that they were creating the ideal scenario for Councillor Bob Houliston's desire.

With there being 25 Councillors in the Pleno, 12 for the tripartite government (PSOE 6, CLR 3, LV 3) and 12 for the PP opposition, he (BH) as the only independent (CLARO) Councillor would have all the power he desired with his deciding vote. He needed to isolate himself from the tripartite group so he resigned as Councillor for the Coast, Beaches and International Residents. He expounded spurious reasons for this decision but none of them can hide what I believe was his real reason. I tend to favour Bertrand Russell's interpretation.

I don't blame the Partido Popular for Bob Houliston crossing the council chamber to support them when he wants to, to suit his needs. I think they are being used. He is cleverly seeking  to use the PP's own group narcissistic tendencies to his advantage to attain a personal ambition of political utopia for himself.