Who would be King Felipe and Queen Letizia when you innocently get caught up in a political spat? Following the gathering of the great and good at the Fitur travel/tourism fair in Madrid, the media enjoy offering various Fitur perspectives - expectations for the coming season as revealed at the fair, general tendencies in the tourism industry, this type of thing. And there are also perspectives on who did what or who didn't do what, which is where the royals come in. Felipe and Letizia, regular holidaymakers in Mallorca, didn't drop by the Balearics stand at Fitur. This had never happened before: the Balearics pavilion is always graced with the presence of royalty. Cue, talk of some type of conspiracy.
As it turns out, there was another stand which the royals didn't go to, that for the Canary Islands. Two and two have been put together and the sum of four is that the royals had received orders from the ministry for industry, energy and tourism, José Manuel Soria, for them to not go to either of the stands. Orders!? A minister ordering the royals? Far-fetched though this might seem, a breaking with royal tradition had to be explained somehow. Hence, the Soria theory. And why would he be issuing "orders" to the royals? Because he wanted to punish both the Balearics and the Canaries owing to their opposition to oil prospecting. Remember that Soria does head a vast ministry with occasionally competing interests, such as oil and energy on the one hand and tourism where the waters are crystal clear and the horizons should never be sullied with the sights of oil platforms on the other.
In the Balearic parliament they were engaging in their own post-Fitur debrief (aka slanging match). Spokespeople from Més were convinced that there was no other explanation for the royals' apparent snub of the Balearics stand than the lousy relations between President Bauzá and Soria (indeed it had been reported that Bauzá was "furious" about the alleged veto of the Balearics stand). Clashes over oil prospecting aside, it was being suggested a year or so ago that Bauzá was after Soria's job, and they have studiously managed to avoid being photographed together ever since or even having to meet, as was the case at the large Berlin travel fair in March last year. Both managed to succumb at the same time to a dose of the flu which prevented their travelling.
Does it really matter if the royals give the stand a miss once in a while? Does it even mean a great deal for them to go to the stand? It probably does matter, especially for Balearics' promotion to the domestic tourist market, which is more likely to see photographic evidence of the visit than the international one. These little things might seem just that - little - but they do all add up. Moreover, it needs stressing that the Balearics and the Canaries combine with Catalonia in contributing 60% of all Spain's tourism. This is something which is deserving of royal acknowledgement and should indeed be deserving of political praise, but at present there is a tourism minister, Soria, who has fallen out with the Balearics and with his home islands of the Canaries, while there is a region - Catalonia - about which we are fully aware of governmental tensions. It isn't a terribly healthy state of tourism affairs.
Given that soundings off the Canaries, if not the Balearics as yet, have led Repsol to decide to discontinue exploration - the oil and gas is of insufficient quality to warrant actual drilling - it seems churlish that Soria might still harbour a grudge against the Canaries, one strong enough to issue instructions to the King as regards which stands he should visit or shouldn't. But then, who knows how far petty political vendettas might extend? Certainly not as far as the Canaries' largest hotel chain, Lopesan, which did receive the royals at its stand. And it was the large hotel chains in Mallorca to which Més also turned its parliamentary attention. These large groups dictate government policy on tourism, it was claimed, and so there needs to be a new "tourism model" for the islands. It is hard to disagree with the claim regarding hotelier power, but as for a new model of tourism, was this Més seeking to claim bragging rights on a change in direction after the next election?
They are lining up on the left of centre to be the initiators of such a change, whatever this might be. Should the large hoteliers be concerned? Not really, given the amount they invest in other parts of the globe. By Fitur 2016, will any change have been effected? Doubtful. But by 2017, you never know, Podemos might have scrapped the monarchy. Then no one could argue about which stands are being visited or not.
Showing posts with label Oil prospecting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oil prospecting. Show all posts
Thursday, February 05, 2015
Monday, December 15, 2014
Power Games In The Air
A couple of weeks ago, President Bauzá let it be known that he was unhappy with the national Ministry of Development because it had not responded to repeated requests from the Balearic Government for information from the ministry's "price observatory" regarding air fares for flights between the islands and the mainland. That the ministry and regional government are ruled by the same political party makes this reluctance seems particularly strange, not that party politics should play a part in information provision, but then maybe internal politics within the Partido Popular do explain why the ministry appears disinclined to part with the information. Bauzá, for all that he once appeared destined for greater things in Madrid, has fallen out with central office over specific policies - oil prospecting (three Balearic senators face party sanctions having again voted against prospecting) and financing of the Balearics via the system of tax redistribution - while he has long ceased to be on friendly terms with tourism, industry and energy minister, José Manuel Soria, and has also made himself unpopular with some powerful people in Madrid because of the treatment of Palma's mayor Mateo Isern, who is well regarded by these same powerful people.
When Balearic PP senators previously voted against a national government motion on oil prospecting, the secretary of state for industry, Enrique Hernández, accused Bauzá of "total disloyalty and irresponsibility" (Bauzá had instructed the senators to vote the way they did). The latest act of disobedience has induced Soria to wonder if it is "normal for a PP senator to vote for a proposal by PSOE". The public war of words over oil prospecting has been further ratcheted up by the regional government's spokesperson, Núria Riera, who has said that central government "doesn't understand anything" about the prospecting.
Lack of understanding has become a common theme of complaints by the regional government. Madrid doesn't understand Balearic opposition to oil prospecting, it doesn't understand the need for re-negotiating an improved financing settlement, and it doesn't understand specific requirements to do with transport connections. Bauzá's requests for air fare price information - he has dubbed the non-response from the Ministry of Development "informational opacity" - have been made because of what has been an increase in fares since the collapse of Spanair in January 2012. These fares are also subject to seasonal increases, such as over the festive period, and by as much as three times the regular fare. Moreover, the system of resident discounts creates an excuse to artificially inflate prices; the higher the actual fare, the more the airlines stand to receive from national government (the Ministry of Development) that funds the discounts.
This concern over fares and the ministry's apparent reticence in making information available can be placed in the context of the situation that has arisen regarding slots for inter-island flights. If one goes back to January this year and to the Fitur tourism trade fair in Madrid, there was a "pleasant surprise" for Balearics' representatives when Air Europa announced that it was opening immediate negotiations with the Civil Aviation Directorate-General (DGAC, which is within the ministry) to operate inter-island routes. It was to become a competitor to Air Nostrum but would have to abide by conditions of "public service obligation", meaning that it would have to agree to the number of flights and to ceilings placed on fares. In January, it was said that all that was needed for Air Europa to commence these flights was a nod of approval from the DGAC, though it wasn't until last month that the airline actually set out its proposal.
Since then, and as we now understand, Air Europa has run up against an obstacle, namely the rejection of 60% of the proposed slots by the combined forces of the ministry, the DGAC and the airports authority, AENA. Of the remainder, Air Europa claim, many do not fit in with how the airline had envisaged their scheduling. The president of Globalia, Juan José Hidalgo, of which Air Europa is a part, has added his voice to regional government ones in being unable to understand the attitude of the ministry. The airline may well, as a consequence, walk away from the project to increase inter-island flights, though it is also looking at a solution from a distribution of slots agreed by an association for slot co-ordination (made up of airlines and airports), which can, under European rules, determine slots independently of the government.
Is the situation with Air Europa, which is headquartered in Mallorca after all, an indication of more than just a lack of understanding by national government, caught in the crossfire of the tensions between Bauzá and Madrid and some sort of power game between the two? It would be perverse were this to be the case, especially as Air Europa is now, by some distance, Spain's leading airline under Spanish ownership.
When Balearic PP senators previously voted against a national government motion on oil prospecting, the secretary of state for industry, Enrique Hernández, accused Bauzá of "total disloyalty and irresponsibility" (Bauzá had instructed the senators to vote the way they did). The latest act of disobedience has induced Soria to wonder if it is "normal for a PP senator to vote for a proposal by PSOE". The public war of words over oil prospecting has been further ratcheted up by the regional government's spokesperson, Núria Riera, who has said that central government "doesn't understand anything" about the prospecting.
Lack of understanding has become a common theme of complaints by the regional government. Madrid doesn't understand Balearic opposition to oil prospecting, it doesn't understand the need for re-negotiating an improved financing settlement, and it doesn't understand specific requirements to do with transport connections. Bauzá's requests for air fare price information - he has dubbed the non-response from the Ministry of Development "informational opacity" - have been made because of what has been an increase in fares since the collapse of Spanair in January 2012. These fares are also subject to seasonal increases, such as over the festive period, and by as much as three times the regular fare. Moreover, the system of resident discounts creates an excuse to artificially inflate prices; the higher the actual fare, the more the airlines stand to receive from national government (the Ministry of Development) that funds the discounts.
This concern over fares and the ministry's apparent reticence in making information available can be placed in the context of the situation that has arisen regarding slots for inter-island flights. If one goes back to January this year and to the Fitur tourism trade fair in Madrid, there was a "pleasant surprise" for Balearics' representatives when Air Europa announced that it was opening immediate negotiations with the Civil Aviation Directorate-General (DGAC, which is within the ministry) to operate inter-island routes. It was to become a competitor to Air Nostrum but would have to abide by conditions of "public service obligation", meaning that it would have to agree to the number of flights and to ceilings placed on fares. In January, it was said that all that was needed for Air Europa to commence these flights was a nod of approval from the DGAC, though it wasn't until last month that the airline actually set out its proposal.
Since then, and as we now understand, Air Europa has run up against an obstacle, namely the rejection of 60% of the proposed slots by the combined forces of the ministry, the DGAC and the airports authority, AENA. Of the remainder, Air Europa claim, many do not fit in with how the airline had envisaged their scheduling. The president of Globalia, Juan José Hidalgo, of which Air Europa is a part, has added his voice to regional government ones in being unable to understand the attitude of the ministry. The airline may well, as a consequence, walk away from the project to increase inter-island flights, though it is also looking at a solution from a distribution of slots agreed by an association for slot co-ordination (made up of airlines and airports), which can, under European rules, determine slots independently of the government.
Is the situation with Air Europa, which is headquartered in Mallorca after all, an indication of more than just a lack of understanding by national government, caught in the crossfire of the tensions between Bauzá and Madrid and some sort of power game between the two? It would be perverse were this to be the case, especially as Air Europa is now, by some distance, Spain's leading airline under Spanish ownership.
Sunday, August 10, 2014
The PP's Oil Crisis
All was going so well. The king was in his palace and Mallorca's politicarrati was queuing up to wish him and Tizzy a happy holiday. Bauzá, Isern, Salom, they all came and went, the first of these pausing to inform the press that the king is well apprised of issues regarding the Balearics. Such as the oil prospecting issue. Bauzá let the king know that the Balearics just say no to oil. But then there was the blowout. Oil was splattered all over the PP. The black stuff hit the fan and then fell on Bauzá and environment minister Company. Someone let it be known that in April last year, and possibly also in July last year, there had been test explorations for oil in the turquoise waters off the Balearics, those which must be solely reserved for tourists, as the president has consistently argued. And no one had thought it necessary to seek permission to do so or to inform the public. Bauzá denied everything and blamed Company. He is only the president, after all.
With oily egg on faces and with the king no doubt wondering if he had been told a porky, government spokesperson Nuria Riera attempted a Red Adair act in seeking to cap the blowout. She fights fires here, she fights fires there, Red Riera insisted that it had all been part of gathering evidence against oil prospecting. So, there was nothing wrong with the tests, even if she seemed uncertain as to who had actually authorised them, given that the government has - she added - not authorised any action regarding surveys. It was, therefore and as usual, all rather confusing. But we can expect minister Company, once he's washed the oil out of his hair, to get in front of parliament next week and give a clearer explanation. Or possibly not.
The oil crisis was nevertheless eased somewhat thanks to Mariano Rajoy making his annual pilgrimage to Mallorca to meet the king - same holidays, same palace, different monarch - and announcing that if there is a risk from oil prospecting around the Balearics, it will not go ahead. All good stuff, therefore, for Bauzá, who is is in need of any good stuff nowadays and all good PP boys together. Over in the Canaries, where the president Rivero is anything but a good PP boy, they were hopping mad at the statement. The black sands of Lanzarote might yet get blacker, they fear.
With oily egg on faces and with the king no doubt wondering if he had been told a porky, government spokesperson Nuria Riera attempted a Red Adair act in seeking to cap the blowout. She fights fires here, she fights fires there, Red Riera insisted that it had all been part of gathering evidence against oil prospecting. So, there was nothing wrong with the tests, even if she seemed uncertain as to who had actually authorised them, given that the government has - she added - not authorised any action regarding surveys. It was, therefore and as usual, all rather confusing. But we can expect minister Company, once he's washed the oil out of his hair, to get in front of parliament next week and give a clearer explanation. Or possibly not.
The oil crisis was nevertheless eased somewhat thanks to Mariano Rajoy making his annual pilgrimage to Mallorca to meet the king - same holidays, same palace, different monarch - and announcing that if there is a risk from oil prospecting around the Balearics, it will not go ahead. All good stuff, therefore, for Bauzá, who is is in need of any good stuff nowadays and all good PP boys together. Over in the Canaries, where the president Rivero is anything but a good PP boy, they were hopping mad at the statement. The black sands of Lanzarote might yet get blacker, they fear.
Sunday, May 11, 2014
The Indiscipline Of The Balearics Partido Popular
President Bauzá, of whom it has been said that he harbours ambitions of a national ministerial position, did himself no favours with the PP national hierarchy last week. "Over and above being the president of the PP in the Balearics, I am the president of the government," he declared in advising Mariano Rajoy, his ultimate boss (and one to whom it has been presumed he typically kowtows), that he was ordering a break in party discipline in the national Senate. The matter at hand was the oil prospecting controversy. The PSOE socialists had raised a motion against the prospecting, and the PP in the Balearics was going to vote with them. A certain chaos has ensued as a result.
As it turned out, not all Balearics PP senators followed Bauzá orders. Minorca's Juana Francis Pons Vila did not vote with PSOE. Not because she didn't agree with the motion but because, well, because they were PSOE.
Bauzá, who has been succeeding in butting heads with just about everyone in the PP locally, is making a pretty decent fist of doing likewise nationally. One of his great adversaries is the national minister for energy and industry, José Manuel Soria, who has the oil remit. Enrique Hernández Bento, an able lieutenant of Soria's and a fellow Canary Islander and sub-secretary at the industry ministry, to boot, has accused Bauzá of engaging in demagoguery and the PP in the Balearics of irresponsibility and incoherence. You might gather that he doesn't approve of their voting with PSOE.
Hernández took the Bauzá Defence of being president of the Balearics and adjusted it to his position. "Señor Bauzá has his responsibility for the autonomous community (of the Balearics). We in the ministry have ours, which is to defend the general interest of Spain. We do not share the PP in the Balearics' position on this matter," he announced (or maybe Soria had told him what to say). Sr. Hernández, it might be noted, is obviously not currying favour with many in the Canaries, where there is an almighty great ding-dong going on over oil drilling there.
For all this, though, Rajoy may look upon Bauzá's indiscipline benignly and still have him earmarked for potential ministerial promotion. After all, there is the matter of regional elections looming, and as José Ramón has been doing his best to ensure that the PP loses in May next year, anything that might retrieve the situation (including voting with PSOE) can only be a good thing.
There is the other matter of the European elections, which are coming up very much sooner. The PSOE opposition in the Balearics smells a rat with Bauzá's indiscipline. The prospecting will happen the day after the elections, she reckons. Which they wouldn't, but we get her drift. Were she to be right, though, Bauzá would sink without trace. He clearly has an eye on elections, more than one set. He won't be disciplined any time soon, one fancies.
As it turned out, not all Balearics PP senators followed Bauzá orders. Minorca's Juana Francis Pons Vila did not vote with PSOE. Not because she didn't agree with the motion but because, well, because they were PSOE.
Bauzá, who has been succeeding in butting heads with just about everyone in the PP locally, is making a pretty decent fist of doing likewise nationally. One of his great adversaries is the national minister for energy and industry, José Manuel Soria, who has the oil remit. Enrique Hernández Bento, an able lieutenant of Soria's and a fellow Canary Islander and sub-secretary at the industry ministry, to boot, has accused Bauzá of engaging in demagoguery and the PP in the Balearics of irresponsibility and incoherence. You might gather that he doesn't approve of their voting with PSOE.
Hernández took the Bauzá Defence of being president of the Balearics and adjusted it to his position. "Señor Bauzá has his responsibility for the autonomous community (of the Balearics). We in the ministry have ours, which is to defend the general interest of Spain. We do not share the PP in the Balearics' position on this matter," he announced (or maybe Soria had told him what to say). Sr. Hernández, it might be noted, is obviously not currying favour with many in the Canaries, where there is an almighty great ding-dong going on over oil drilling there.
For all this, though, Rajoy may look upon Bauzá's indiscipline benignly and still have him earmarked for potential ministerial promotion. After all, there is the matter of regional elections looming, and as José Ramón has been doing his best to ensure that the PP loses in May next year, anything that might retrieve the situation (including voting with PSOE) can only be a good thing.
There is the other matter of the European elections, which are coming up very much sooner. The PSOE opposition in the Balearics smells a rat with Bauzá's indiscipline. The prospecting will happen the day after the elections, she reckons. Which they wouldn't, but we get her drift. Were she to be right, though, Bauzá would sink without trace. He clearly has an eye on elections, more than one set. He won't be disciplined any time soon, one fancies.
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