"Mayor Talks To British Community". This shock-horror headline hasn't appeared, but should have. A mayor going along and talking to a bunch of Brits in a Brit-owned bar. Whatever next?
The mayor in question was Tommy Cifre. Two Tommy Cifres, there are only two Tommy Cifres present among Pollensa town hall's cadre of councillors, but only one can be mayor, and it isn't the one from the Mallorcan socialists. The mayor came, he spoke in a sort of English and conquered those who were concerned about the quality of the tap water.
It's not, however, that you expect him to be perfect in English. Why should he be? Some Mallorcan politicians can apparently do English reasonably well. President Bauzá, or so it has been reported, impressed tour operators and others at a World Travel Market lunch with the "fluency" of his English. One who didn't, it would seem, was the Mallorcan Joan Mesquida, who is only of course the national government's tourism secretary and formerly the tourism minister. You can't have someone able to communicate effectively with representatives from one of Spain's principal tourism markets; that would just be pointless.
But it doesn't matter because there are always interpreters and translators. Mesquida may be able to call on such services, but the town halls can't necessarily. Take Alcúdia, for instance. A while back I received an email asking if I could put into serviceable English the Spanish description of the Roman town. Sure I could, and did, and sent it back with a note asking where I should send my invoice. Not that I seriously anticipated a positive response; and so I was therefore not disappointed to receive no response.
Though Alcúdia town hall now has a superbly scripted English explanation of Pollentia and the monographic museum, is it right that it should get one gratis and as a favour? Seemingly it is, and I hope all the British and English-speaking tourists are grateful. But is it also right that there appears not to be anyone actually employed or contracted (and paid accordingly) who can do English properly? And I do mean properly and not just in a somewhat better than putting a translation through Google fashion.
I don't expect mayors to speak English. It was good of Cifre to give it a reasonable crack, therefore. In many Mallorcan municipalities, ability in English or another main foreign language would be almost completely unnecessary, but in towns such as Alcúdia and Pollensa - especially Pollensa - then I do expect some decent English; not by the mayor but through the systems of communication that exist. Ten per cent of Pollensa's resident population is British; the town has an overwhelmingly British tourism market.
The counter-argument is, of course, that all these Brits should damn well learn the lingo, always assuming we know which lingo is being referred to; and in the now Partido Popular-dominated Pollensa town hall it is still stubbornly Catalan. But dream on; most will never learn the native sufficiently well and certainly not sufficiently well to engage in the political process.
A mayor coming to speak to the British community (and it must be said that it was more than just the Brits) is an aspect of this process. A question about tap water may sound trivial in the scheme of things, but in fact it isn't; town halls do, after all, have legal responsibilities for sanitation.
But more than this, and this is where the whole argument about voting rights for expatriates tends to founder, is the fact that if communication is not understandable, then how can expatriates ever be expected to be anything like fully engaged in the process over and above a small minority that takes an interest regardless of the language? Ahead of the local elections in May, in which expatriates were entitled to vote, where were the communications in relevant languages? Perhaps there were in certain municipalities, but I was unaware of any.
Depending on municipality, Mallorca should display a multi-lingualism that reflects the realities of its population. English and German, probably French and Arabic; these might be considered the essential additional languages. Such reality is coming to be accepted; in Pollensa I know that local parties, and not just Cifre's PP, are keen to engage with the English-speaking population. So they should.
It's easy to dismiss expats as being uninterested in local politics. Many are, but many are not, especially at the local level. For a mayor as engaging as Tommy Cifre to come along and engage the Brits - in English - took some balls. He may have ballsed up his English, but so what? He made the effort.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Friday, November 11, 2011
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Technical Problems
The router was knocked out on Sunday and I'm still waiting for a replacement, hence the erratic nature of entries the past few days. Apologies for this.
Tightening The Nóos
All this talk of all-inclusives and a lack of winter tourism and flights ruining the paradise island, blah, blah, and one quite loses sight of what really put the "mal" into Mallorca with two l's. Corruption, and lots of it.
We have been sidetracked these past few months into neglecting the fact that cases surrounding the one-time Balearics president, Jaume Matas, are still going on. Lord alone knows how much this is all costing, but presumably there are special provisions, given deficit requirements, to allow for the payment of an army of investigators.
The current president, José Bauzá, is probably, on balance, quite content for the cases to still be being played out and periodically splashed all over the Spanish press. It might be a tad embarrassing that Matas was his predecessor as a PP president, but Bauzá made a virtue of excluding any candidate implicated in corruption from the spring elections. In the process, he might have hoped to undo all the scandal that has made Mallorca an object of such enormous amusement, but he can't do much about the elephant in the room - Matas, the gift that keeps on giving.
When you had pretty much forgotten that investigations were still ongoing, out of the blue come revelations of the type that had helped grant Mallorca its deserved status as one of the great centres of comic corruption.
The latest ones involve a minor royal, the Duke of Palma. The royal household has felt compelled to issue a statement that it has no comment to make on allegations being made about him other than to say that it respects the work of the judges. Minor royal he may be, but there is the slight matter of who he is married to - the infanta Cristina.
To cut to the chase, the Duke was at one point the president of something called the Instituto Nóos, an institute for sponsorship and patronage. What the investigators would like to know is why the Matas government, mainly through a body known as Illesport, paid the institute 2.3 million euros between 2005 and 2007. There are questions relating to four invoices totalling 1.2 million euros in respect of the staging of a 2005 forum and to invoices for nearly 450,000 euros that were raised a month before the 2007 elections, which Matas lost.
There was a common theme to these invoices, as the forum and the later 450,000 had to do with a so-called observatory of tourism and sport. At the forum this concept was discussed, whatever it actually meant, but nothing more was heard of it. However, the invoices of April 2007 mention it specifically.
No one seems to quite know what this observatory did, if anything. With the money the invoices generated, the institute made payments of its own, among which were those to companies belonging to one Diego Torres, an "expert in marketing", who succeeded the Duke as institute president in 2006, and also to a real-estate company run by the Duke.
Of course, there may be a very good explanation for all of this, while the revelations are all the more thrilling for the press as they involve royalty. But what they do, once more, is to highlight the tangled web of government agencies and foundations, especially within the area of tourism, and of other organisations, such as the Duke's institute, which were associated with them. Of these agencies, mostly all are now defunct, having been scrapped by the last government when the full weight of corruption charges hit the tourism ministry.
Why were there so many, though? And why was there ever any need for an "observatory" of tourism and sport? It may be unclear what its purpose actually was, but it sounds not dissimilar to the government's own so-called tourism strategy and research agency, Inestur, one of the agencies that now no longer exists. The Illesport agency was in fact a foundation for the support and promotion of sport in the Balearics. It might be argued that it was appropriate for it to engage the services of a specialist operation, i.e. the Instituto Nóos, but then what did it actually do, other than give money out?
The point is that, even if corruption comes to be proven, the real problem was all the various bodies that were set up with seemingly little or no control or idea as to why they were being set up. Tourism, and its associated sport sector, may have had its governmental budget cut, but it is still, as it was under Matas, a goose that lays the golden egg, or should that be the noose that lassooed a golden egg? Only to end up hanging itself. Allegedly.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Short Train Running (Or Not)
The enthusiasm with which President Bauzá greeted the news of the "Mediterranean corridor" high-speed rail service on the mainland contrasts with the apparent indifference of the regional government to a railway in its own backyard - the extension from Manacor to Artà.
Bauzá's support for the mainland service stems from its potential to cut the cost of imports to the Balearics. It may have some impact in this regard, but if he were serious about making imports cheaper then he should be doing all he can to tackle the cost of shipping. While he has made an economic case in favour of the high-speed service, his own government has made a different economic case - against the Manacor to Artà line.
This rail line, work on which is currently suspended owing to what is said to be a lack of finance, has provoked all manner of argument and recrimination, culminating in a protest in Son Servera at the weekend. It is just the latest manifestation of arguments that have dogged the line ever since the previous regional government announced its development.
The protest and the wishes of the mayors of Son Servera, Artà, Sant Llorenç and Capdepera to get work on the line unparalysed form another contrast - that with the opposition to the project among residents when the plans for the project were first drawn up. The rail line has never had anything like unanimous support.
Much of the opposition was of the nimby variety, but it is ever thus with such infrastructure projects. More objective was the report by the island's Chamber of Commerce which questioned the wisdom of the rail line and in particular the then regional government's figures in terms of usage and return on investment.
The mayors are in favour of the rail line, though, because of possible economic benefits to the eastern part of the island and because of what is a comparatively poor transport infrastructure. Another voice, that of the president of the hotel association in Capdepera, speaking in the context of there being just one hotel and one hostel open there this winter, has called for transport improvements. The argument isn't a strong one, as the internal transport infrastructure isn't really an issue when it comes to winter tourism, but he does have a point in respect of what are weak transport connections - both road and rail - that apply to most of the east coast.
Rather than the work on the line having been stopped for financial reasons, the mayors believe that the regional government took a political decision when it halted the work. And messages coming out of the government are, it must be said, somewhat confusing. A couple of weeks ago the responsible minister, Gabriel Company (environment and land), insisted that the government hadn't given up on the rail line and that its future depended upon funds from central government. At the same time, however, he was flagging up the notion of Mallorca having a "corridor" of its own, a green one that would run the length of the rail line.
The mayors, however, claim that there are state funds that would allow work to continue, and they wonder why the regional government took its decision without apparently discussing the matter with the development ministry in Madrid. Whoever one believes, and it is difficult to know, the immediate future of the rail line is due to be the subject of a meeting that has been called, bizarrely enough, three days after the national election on 20 November.
Whatever the outcome of that meeting and indeed whatever the future may be for the Manacor to Artà line, if it has one at all, the arguments over its development, as with other arguments surrounding transport projects on Mallorca, raise a question as to whether a real, a sensible and an integrated transport system can ever be agreed.
Mallorca is small enough that it might be argued that it doesn't need a rail service, or at least any development of the existing one. On the other hand, and though the Manacor to Artà line would only be 30 kilometres long, the island is sufficiently large enough to accommodate more rail transport; indeed, it probably should have more rail services. But what seems to be lacking, and has been lacking, is a true appreciation of all the social, environmental and economic issues (the latter to include tourism) as they apply to the island's transport system.
If the paralysis of the Manacor to Artà line has any benefit, it is that it might just inspire a proper investigation of the needs of this transport system. Though when that might ever happen, heaven only knows.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Tuesday, November 08, 2011
Face To Face
Face to face, face off, face up to facts, put a brave face on things, put a face to someone. Idiomatic contortions of "face" just go to emphasise how important the face is.
The face determines much. It determines reaction and impression by others, and it betrays reaction and impression on behalf of the "face" him or herself. Face to face, "cara a cara", determined much. This was the face off between the Spanish prime ministerial candidates, facing up to the facts that inform the election, or diligently ignoring them, one putting a brave face on things, both being people you could put a face to.
Even if you were already familiar with the faces of Mariano Rajoy and Alfredo Rubalcaba, exposed to the television camera, facing each other across a vast desk, you saw things you hadn't previously. Rubalcaba looked younger than his Solzhenitsyn appearance suggests, though he seemed to visibly age during his encounter with Rajoy who had seemed to have taken a leaf out of his predecessor Aznar's book and had formed an acquaintance with hair dye; his beard looked strangely grey against a full head of vibrant brown.
The electoral debate on Spanish television was an event akin to a major football final. The lead-up was endless, a clock in the top right-hand corner giving a countdown to how long it was before the face to face occurred. Analysts there were in abundance, children had been asked as to their choice of next prime minister, campaign leaders of the two camps talked up their boys, the one heading the PSOE campaign standing in front of a legend which read "formularubalcaba"; socialist medicine, one presumed.
Then there were the presenters. Spanish television has taken the message of equality to the extreme. Barely a male was to be seen amidst the great numbers of female presenters. And what strikes one about them is the fact that nearly all are gorgeous. There aren't many heirs to the throne or Spanish national football team captains and goalkeepers to go around, but a career in television does offer its marital and partner opportunities, though what does one make of the strikingly blonde Maria Casado, whose surname suggests that she already is married?
And so, eventually, to the face to face itself. The moderator wished everyone a good evening, including America, which might not have been glued to television screens as much as he might have hoped; Obama, one imagines, had better things to do than devote a couple of hours to potential leaders of a country that barely registers in the international scheme of things.
Though of course it might register, if the economy goes totally belly-up, and it was this, the economy, that formed the first part of the debate, the rules being set out by our moderator friend, a moustachioed gentleman with a resemblance to Bob Carolgees minus Spit the Dog.
It mattered little what was actually said. Far more important was the watching, the studying of the faces. Here were the two men with the fate of a nation in their hands, and what a choice they offer. The best one might say about either is that he is a safe pair of hands, possibly, but both are terminally dull, terminally bearded and grey, despite the efforts of the make-up people. Spain doesn't do charisma politics.
They argued occasionally, some heat was given off, dismissiveness of the opponent was shown on the face, but only once was there genuine contempt, Rubalcaba's glance at Rajoy during the bit on social policies saying all you needed to know. It was all pretty well-mannered and formal. "Señor Rajoy" and "Señor Rubalcaba"; both deployed the "usted" form. Little enlivened proceedings except for when Rubalcaba suddenly produced a graphic during the pensions debate; it was as though he were on a chat show and had remembered that he had a book to promote or as though he were on "Blue Peter" - here's a graphic I made earlier.
When it came to an end, you were none the wiser. Bob Carolgees signed off events with thanks all round. There was no shaking of hands, no smiles for the camera, just a long, lingering shot of the desk on a stage in front of an absent audience. Frankly, it had all been an enervating experience, but then politics often are, especially when the protagonists are as stripped of vitality as these two.
Rajoy probably won, but then so he should as he went into the face to face in a position of strength, PSOE fast disappearing down the opinion poll plug hole. Rubalcaba's face will have done little to have reversed the trend.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
The face determines much. It determines reaction and impression by others, and it betrays reaction and impression on behalf of the "face" him or herself. Face to face, "cara a cara", determined much. This was the face off between the Spanish prime ministerial candidates, facing up to the facts that inform the election, or diligently ignoring them, one putting a brave face on things, both being people you could put a face to.
Even if you were already familiar with the faces of Mariano Rajoy and Alfredo Rubalcaba, exposed to the television camera, facing each other across a vast desk, you saw things you hadn't previously. Rubalcaba looked younger than his Solzhenitsyn appearance suggests, though he seemed to visibly age during his encounter with Rajoy who had seemed to have taken a leaf out of his predecessor Aznar's book and had formed an acquaintance with hair dye; his beard looked strangely grey against a full head of vibrant brown.
The electoral debate on Spanish television was an event akin to a major football final. The lead-up was endless, a clock in the top right-hand corner giving a countdown to how long it was before the face to face occurred. Analysts there were in abundance, children had been asked as to their choice of next prime minister, campaign leaders of the two camps talked up their boys, the one heading the PSOE campaign standing in front of a legend which read "formularubalcaba"; socialist medicine, one presumed.
Then there were the presenters. Spanish television has taken the message of equality to the extreme. Barely a male was to be seen amidst the great numbers of female presenters. And what strikes one about them is the fact that nearly all are gorgeous. There aren't many heirs to the throne or Spanish national football team captains and goalkeepers to go around, but a career in television does offer its marital and partner opportunities, though what does one make of the strikingly blonde Maria Casado, whose surname suggests that she already is married?
And so, eventually, to the face to face itself. The moderator wished everyone a good evening, including America, which might not have been glued to television screens as much as he might have hoped; Obama, one imagines, had better things to do than devote a couple of hours to potential leaders of a country that barely registers in the international scheme of things.
Though of course it might register, if the economy goes totally belly-up, and it was this, the economy, that formed the first part of the debate, the rules being set out by our moderator friend, a moustachioed gentleman with a resemblance to Bob Carolgees minus Spit the Dog.
It mattered little what was actually said. Far more important was the watching, the studying of the faces. Here were the two men with the fate of a nation in their hands, and what a choice they offer. The best one might say about either is that he is a safe pair of hands, possibly, but both are terminally dull, terminally bearded and grey, despite the efforts of the make-up people. Spain doesn't do charisma politics.
They argued occasionally, some heat was given off, dismissiveness of the opponent was shown on the face, but only once was there genuine contempt, Rubalcaba's glance at Rajoy during the bit on social policies saying all you needed to know. It was all pretty well-mannered and formal. "Señor Rajoy" and "Señor Rubalcaba"; both deployed the "usted" form. Little enlivened proceedings except for when Rubalcaba suddenly produced a graphic during the pensions debate; it was as though he were on a chat show and had remembered that he had a book to promote or as though he were on "Blue Peter" - here's a graphic I made earlier.
When it came to an end, you were none the wiser. Bob Carolgees signed off events with thanks all round. There was no shaking of hands, no smiles for the camera, just a long, lingering shot of the desk on a stage in front of an absent audience. Frankly, it had all been an enervating experience, but then politics often are, especially when the protagonists are as stripped of vitality as these two.
Rajoy probably won, but then so he should as he went into the face to face in a position of strength, PSOE fast disappearing down the opinion poll plug hole. Rubalcaba's face will have done little to have reversed the trend.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Monday, November 07, 2011
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 7 November 2011
Heavy rain and thunder overnight, there have been any number of "incidents" across the island, the consequence of the rain and also winds, though predominantly in the south and west. Nearly 130mm has so far fallen today in Pollensa, making it wetter than coastal areas, and the rest of the day looks grim. The rain is likely to continue overnight and into tomorrow morning with an improvement later tomorrow.
The Cruise Tourism Myth
By way of a coincidence, a couple of mentions of cruise tourism over the past few days had worked themselves into my consciousness. I referred to one of them yesterday; the other had simply lodged in my memory banks.
The reference I made was to Leo Hickman who has lumped cruise ships in with all-inclusive hotels in branding them one of the worst forms of tourism in that they generate little by way of benefit to local economies. The one I hadn't referred to, but now do, was to Puerto Alcúdia and a question asked by the restaurant association as to why its new commercial port was not receiving cruise ships.
In Alcúdia there was talk of it becoming a port of call. It was one reason why so much was invested in developing the new terminal and in deepening the waters. To date, it has not become a port of call and it may never become so. The restaurant association would wish otherwise, as it would hope to reap the benefits from stopover passengers.
The benefits. Ah yes, the benefits of cruise tourism to local economies. These are the benefits that Palma (though not exclusively Palma) derives from cruise tourism and which the city anticipates more of as the volume of cruise traffic increases.
But, as we are reminded not infrequently, passengers disembark, wallets bulging, ready to spend wildly, only to find shops closed. At least, this is one of the sticks which are used to beat Palma shopowners into opening submission and which is used to criticise an inert local tourism-related industry that spurns the opportunities from cruise tourists.
Alcúdia's restaurants presumably believe that they, along with other local businesses, would enjoy untold riches from passengers taking a bit of shore leave. Would they, though?
One of the most important pieces of research into the economic impact of cruise tourism was undertaken by the Policy Research Corporation on behalf of the European Commission. Based on data from October 2008 to September 2009, it looked at, among other things, expenditure by passengers. Of the top 15 ports in Europe, Palma was ranked sixth with around 53 million euros, a figure that rose to 70 million when crew and ship expenditures were added.
The report calculated specific expenditures dependent upon whether passengers disembarked during a stopover (and not all do) and whether they were joining or leaving the ship. The average spend was, respectively, 60 and 95 euros per passenger (the figure being the same whether joining or leaving).
In themselves, the figures seem healthy enough, but you need to dig down into them to understand what they represent. Mostly all the spend by a passenger joining or leaving a ship is on hotel accommodation; the spend of the passenger who disembarks for the day goes primarily towards an excursion of some sort.
The cruise ship functions in its own way. Because stopovers are short, it organises well in advance, as in booking excursions with a select few attractions/activities for which the cruise ship typically extracts a significant commission; and it is said that this can be as high as 50%, which immediately slashes that expenditure which gets into the local economy.
The ship has its arrangements with hotels, with a handful of chosen excursions and perhaps with certain shops or others, and a commission will operate in almost every instance. The benefit, in other words, tends to be spread very thinly. And where the passenger has some "free" time, what can he actually contribute over and above what has pretty much been pre-determined? P&O, for example, lists Pollensa and Formentor as one of its nine shore excursions. In Pollensa there are 30 minutes "to do as you choose ... it is the perfect place to have a morning coffee".
And so that's about it. A coffee. Very little, and the restaurants of Alcúdia might bear this in mind, is actually spent on food. It's the same issue as with all-inclusives, as the passenger has generally already paid for his food on the ship. At most he might buy a small snack and the odd drink while on shore, and that's it.
There is plenty more that could be said about cruise ships and cruise tourism; about the environmental damage caused by ships, and which is greatly understated, or about the fact that little or no direct employment is generated. A benefit does come from cruises, but it is not as great as might be thought, a point made by Professor Paul Wilkinson of Canada's York University, and a leading researcher into cruise tourism, who has said that "cruise visitors have little potential economic impact".
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
The reference I made was to Leo Hickman who has lumped cruise ships in with all-inclusive hotels in branding them one of the worst forms of tourism in that they generate little by way of benefit to local economies. The one I hadn't referred to, but now do, was to Puerto Alcúdia and a question asked by the restaurant association as to why its new commercial port was not receiving cruise ships.
In Alcúdia there was talk of it becoming a port of call. It was one reason why so much was invested in developing the new terminal and in deepening the waters. To date, it has not become a port of call and it may never become so. The restaurant association would wish otherwise, as it would hope to reap the benefits from stopover passengers.
The benefits. Ah yes, the benefits of cruise tourism to local economies. These are the benefits that Palma (though not exclusively Palma) derives from cruise tourism and which the city anticipates more of as the volume of cruise traffic increases.
But, as we are reminded not infrequently, passengers disembark, wallets bulging, ready to spend wildly, only to find shops closed. At least, this is one of the sticks which are used to beat Palma shopowners into opening submission and which is used to criticise an inert local tourism-related industry that spurns the opportunities from cruise tourists.
Alcúdia's restaurants presumably believe that they, along with other local businesses, would enjoy untold riches from passengers taking a bit of shore leave. Would they, though?
One of the most important pieces of research into the economic impact of cruise tourism was undertaken by the Policy Research Corporation on behalf of the European Commission. Based on data from October 2008 to September 2009, it looked at, among other things, expenditure by passengers. Of the top 15 ports in Europe, Palma was ranked sixth with around 53 million euros, a figure that rose to 70 million when crew and ship expenditures were added.
The report calculated specific expenditures dependent upon whether passengers disembarked during a stopover (and not all do) and whether they were joining or leaving the ship. The average spend was, respectively, 60 and 95 euros per passenger (the figure being the same whether joining or leaving).
In themselves, the figures seem healthy enough, but you need to dig down into them to understand what they represent. Mostly all the spend by a passenger joining or leaving a ship is on hotel accommodation; the spend of the passenger who disembarks for the day goes primarily towards an excursion of some sort.
The cruise ship functions in its own way. Because stopovers are short, it organises well in advance, as in booking excursions with a select few attractions/activities for which the cruise ship typically extracts a significant commission; and it is said that this can be as high as 50%, which immediately slashes that expenditure which gets into the local economy.
The ship has its arrangements with hotels, with a handful of chosen excursions and perhaps with certain shops or others, and a commission will operate in almost every instance. The benefit, in other words, tends to be spread very thinly. And where the passenger has some "free" time, what can he actually contribute over and above what has pretty much been pre-determined? P&O, for example, lists Pollensa and Formentor as one of its nine shore excursions. In Pollensa there are 30 minutes "to do as you choose ... it is the perfect place to have a morning coffee".
And so that's about it. A coffee. Very little, and the restaurants of Alcúdia might bear this in mind, is actually spent on food. It's the same issue as with all-inclusives, as the passenger has generally already paid for his food on the ship. At most he might buy a small snack and the odd drink while on shore, and that's it.
There is plenty more that could be said about cruise ships and cruise tourism; about the environmental damage caused by ships, and which is greatly understated, or about the fact that little or no direct employment is generated. A benefit does come from cruises, but it is not as great as might be thought, a point made by Professor Paul Wilkinson of Canada's York University, and a leading researcher into cruise tourism, who has said that "cruise visitors have little potential economic impact".
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Sunday, November 06, 2011
MALLORCA TODAY - Alternativa rejects Ternelles negotiations
The Alternativa per Pollença party has rejected suggestions by Pollensa town hall that it negotiates with the owners of the Camí de Ternelles walk so as to avoid any litigation and to ensure that the walk can be included in the town's catalogue of walks, even if still on the restricted basis by which walks can be enjoyed by the public. The Alternativa points to the Coasts Law as being critical in that, as things stand, access to the sea is being denied to the public. The party argues, therefore, that there should not be any restrictions.
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 6 November 2011
Another storm yesterday evening and plenty of rain about, some having been torrential, Pollensa having already registered almost 50mm today. A grey morning with more rain around and a high of 16. The forecast does indicate that things will get very much better by Wednesday.
Afternoon update: It has been a day to forget. A good deal of rain and little by way of blue skies. More appropriate to talk about lows rather than highs. 14 in Pollensa today, as in this has been the high.
Afternoon update: It has been a day to forget. A good deal of rain and little by way of blue skies. More appropriate to talk about lows rather than highs. 14 in Pollensa today, as in this has been the high.
The Worst Form Of Tourism
The World Travel Market (WTM) in London starts tomorrow. The world will be travelling to the ExCel; getting on for 5,000 exhibitors, 3,000 journalists and any number of VIPs, politicians, businesspeople and the poor sods who have to stand around at the exhibitions for four days.
Among the exhibiting of the 5,000 will be the Balearics Tourism Agency (stand EM1650, if you must know), proudly listed in the alphabetical running-order below Baki Tur, not a tobacconist tour agency but something designed to get you heading off to Azerbaijan. There is an awful lot of world travel to be had nowadays. How very different to the days when the Mallorca (spelt with two l's for the purposes of the WTM) Tourist Board was founded in 1905. Sharing the stand with the tourism agency, its blurb reminds everyone that it really is this old and that "2005 will its centenary year". Oh well, let's hope no one actually reads the blurb. There's nothing like incorrect grammar and downright error to influence people.
The Balearics participation in this year's WTM is, as has been well-publicised, an altogether more austere affair than it has been in the past. The hangers-on are down in number and the budget has been cut. Tourism minister Delgado has insisted that the fair isn't an excuse for a jolly; it's all about business. Which is only right as the WTM itself has adopted the snappy slogan "WTM Means Business", which it doesn't as it means World Travel Market, but let's not quibble.
The WTM isn't just about stands and selling destinations. It is also about trends, and each year a report is produced which considers these trends and immediate prospects. But such reports overlook the unexpected. The 2010 report had nothing about the Arab spring. It predicted "weak performance" for European travel and tourism, which was right only up to a point as it hadn't figured on the boost that the Arab spring gave to tourism to destinations such as Mallorca.
And word coming out of the WTM is that the Arab effect hasn't finished. Libya and Syria together with a perception of growing Islamist influence in both Tunisia and Egypt are likely to help to make 2012 just as good for Mallorca. What can't yet be determined is the extent of any fallout in Europe itself as a result of the Greek and Euro crisis. It is perhaps slightly unfortunate that the WTM international press centre is being sponsored by the Greek National Tourism Organisation.
Among the speakers at the WTM will be representatives of organisations that make it sound like an echo of the recent ABTA convention in Palma - British Airways, Royal Caribbean, Google - but perhaps the most interesting will be Leo Hickman.
That Hickman is a journalist with "The Guardian" is likely to have you leap to all manner of conclusions, but what he has to say is far from unimportant and will chime with what many think about issues in Mallorca. His book "The Final Call" was based on travels across the globe; he didn't make it to Mallorca, but he did get to Ibiza where there are similar issues.
To give you a flavour of his views, and I quote from an interview on the Worldhum website, here is Hickman on tourism in general: "a one-sided transaction whereby the buyer - the tourist - comes off much better from the deal than the sellers at the destination". "Tourism predominantly creates 'McJobs' ... it is largely a myth that (it) creates a form of trickle-down wealth for all." Here he is on "nefarious" effects of tourism. Sex tourism is the worst, but beyond this come all-inclusive hotels (and cruise ships); "one of the most damaging forms of tourism in the fact that they offer the destination so little".
Hickman also refers to the theory of the remarkably named Dr. Stanley Plog who has plotted the rise of tourism destinations to a peak of too much development and then an inevitable decline, one that can be avoided by the right planning by regional governments and others but is all too often absent and instead dominated by short-term thinking.
There is an awful lot of sense in what Hickman says. Though the Balearics Tourism Agency will be busy doing business, it might do well to send at least one of its representatives along to Hickman's presentation. Tourists getting much the better of the deal, McJobs, all-inclusives the worst form of tourism after prostitution, and the inevitable decline of destinations that are too developed. It does sound rather familiar.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Among the exhibiting of the 5,000 will be the Balearics Tourism Agency (stand EM1650, if you must know), proudly listed in the alphabetical running-order below Baki Tur, not a tobacconist tour agency but something designed to get you heading off to Azerbaijan. There is an awful lot of world travel to be had nowadays. How very different to the days when the Mallorca (spelt with two l's for the purposes of the WTM) Tourist Board was founded in 1905. Sharing the stand with the tourism agency, its blurb reminds everyone that it really is this old and that "2005 will its centenary year". Oh well, let's hope no one actually reads the blurb. There's nothing like incorrect grammar and downright error to influence people.
The Balearics participation in this year's WTM is, as has been well-publicised, an altogether more austere affair than it has been in the past. The hangers-on are down in number and the budget has been cut. Tourism minister Delgado has insisted that the fair isn't an excuse for a jolly; it's all about business. Which is only right as the WTM itself has adopted the snappy slogan "WTM Means Business", which it doesn't as it means World Travel Market, but let's not quibble.
The WTM isn't just about stands and selling destinations. It is also about trends, and each year a report is produced which considers these trends and immediate prospects. But such reports overlook the unexpected. The 2010 report had nothing about the Arab spring. It predicted "weak performance" for European travel and tourism, which was right only up to a point as it hadn't figured on the boost that the Arab spring gave to tourism to destinations such as Mallorca.
And word coming out of the WTM is that the Arab effect hasn't finished. Libya and Syria together with a perception of growing Islamist influence in both Tunisia and Egypt are likely to help to make 2012 just as good for Mallorca. What can't yet be determined is the extent of any fallout in Europe itself as a result of the Greek and Euro crisis. It is perhaps slightly unfortunate that the WTM international press centre is being sponsored by the Greek National Tourism Organisation.
Among the speakers at the WTM will be representatives of organisations that make it sound like an echo of the recent ABTA convention in Palma - British Airways, Royal Caribbean, Google - but perhaps the most interesting will be Leo Hickman.
That Hickman is a journalist with "The Guardian" is likely to have you leap to all manner of conclusions, but what he has to say is far from unimportant and will chime with what many think about issues in Mallorca. His book "The Final Call" was based on travels across the globe; he didn't make it to Mallorca, but he did get to Ibiza where there are similar issues.
To give you a flavour of his views, and I quote from an interview on the Worldhum website, here is Hickman on tourism in general: "a one-sided transaction whereby the buyer - the tourist - comes off much better from the deal than the sellers at the destination". "Tourism predominantly creates 'McJobs' ... it is largely a myth that (it) creates a form of trickle-down wealth for all." Here he is on "nefarious" effects of tourism. Sex tourism is the worst, but beyond this come all-inclusive hotels (and cruise ships); "one of the most damaging forms of tourism in the fact that they offer the destination so little".
Hickman also refers to the theory of the remarkably named Dr. Stanley Plog who has plotted the rise of tourism destinations to a peak of too much development and then an inevitable decline, one that can be avoided by the right planning by regional governments and others but is all too often absent and instead dominated by short-term thinking.
There is an awful lot of sense in what Hickman says. Though the Balearics Tourism Agency will be busy doing business, it might do well to send at least one of its representatives along to Hickman's presentation. Tourists getting much the better of the deal, McJobs, all-inclusives the worst form of tourism after prostitution, and the inevitable decline of destinations that are too developed. It does sound rather familiar.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Saturday, November 05, 2011
MALLORCA TODAY - Real Mallorca 0 : 0 Sevilla
Following the shockers against Gijon and Barcelona, Mallorca needed a boost to their season against top-six Sevilla. There was little cheer in an unremarkable first half, Sevilla largely dominating play though Mallorca coming into things more towards the break, to make honours even after 45 minutes. Increasingly, into the second half, Mallorca took over, Nsue, for example, drawing a save from Varas. The greater chances fell to Mallorca, still suffering from a failure to convert opportunities. Though the game ended up scoreless, this was a much-improved performance.
Mallorca:
Aouate; Cendrós, Chico, Ramis, Bigas; Pina, Tissone; Nsue, Alfaro (Álvaro 87), Castro (Tejera 76); Hemed (Victor 80)
Yellow: Bigas (28); Castro (30); Tejera (78); Pina (90+)
Sevilla:
Varas; Cáceres, Spahic, Escudé, Navarro; Medel (Fazio 76), Rakitic (Campaña 60); Navas, Trochowski (Alberto 67), Armenteros; del Moral
Yellow: Medel (29); Spahic (58)
Mallorca:
Aouate; Cendrós, Chico, Ramis, Bigas; Pina, Tissone; Nsue, Alfaro (Álvaro 87), Castro (Tejera 76); Hemed (Victor 80)
Yellow: Bigas (28); Castro (30); Tejera (78); Pina (90+)
Sevilla:
Varas; Cáceres, Spahic, Escudé, Navarro; Medel (Fazio 76), Rakitic (Campaña 60); Navas, Trochowski (Alberto 67), Armenteros; del Moral
Yellow: Medel (29); Spahic (58)
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 5 November 2011
A wet morning, rain falling only lightly at 09:15 but it has been heavier, Pollensa having already registered 18mm today. The fierce storm of yesterday spread as far as Sa Pobla and brought flooding there, but was far less strong once it reached the coastal area. The met office is warning that a similar event could occur again over the next few days. For now, a high of 15, little sign of sun today and not much better tomorrow or Monday, though an improvement may take place on Tuesday.
Afternoon update: After the wetness of the morning, an improvement in the afternoon with some slight sun around and a high of 18 degrees.
Afternoon update: After the wetness of the morning, an improvement in the afternoon with some slight sun around and a high of 18 degrees.
Tourism Made Simple For Politicians
Amazing. Rajoy speaks! He has left it late, but with just a couple weeks remaining before the general election it is about time that he proved that he hadn't permanently lost his voice. He has been speaking, and what words of wisdom have been pouring out of the Partido Popular's prime ministerial candidate. Words of tourism wisdom.
Somewhere in the bowels of PP HQ is a room where candidates are taken to be given their primers on subjects they have no knowledge of, like tourism for instance. Various strategists, PR people and speech-writers sit the candidates down and open the "Juanita y Juan" book of tourism made simple for politicians.
"Right now, Mariano, repeat after me. Quality tourism." "Quality tourism." "Good. Do you know what it means?" "Erm ..." "Not to worry because it doesn't mean anything. Now, listen carefully, I will read out a list of things that will overcome seasonality and I want you to then repeat them. Understood?" "Seasonality. Yes, good, it's a bit of problem for tourism. Isn't it?" "It is, so it's very important that you know what you're talking about. Here goes. Culture, nature, nautical, sport, film, gastronomy, bird-watching and golf." "Ah, golf! Yes. Seve Ballesteros. Fore!" "Yes, Mariano, unfortunately he is in fact dead."
Rajoy has certainly been taking his lessons seriously. He has come up with a cunning plan. He's going to tackle structural problems of the tourism sector, such as there being too many obsolete resorts. Gosh, what an original thought. Where have we heard this before? Ah yes, Playa de Palma. How long has it taken for its redevelopment not to occur? Only about seven years. So far.
What is actually meant by obsolete? Given that Spanish and Mallorcan resorts grew up in the sixties and seventies, it probably means they're all obsolete. The sort of investment that would be required to make them un-obsolete will mean they remain obsolete for a further 40 or 50 years, by which time they will probably have fallen down anyway.
But then, investment has been available. Or was. Supposedly. Go back to 2008 and you may recall that 500 million euros were going to be pumped into updating tourism resorts. What do you mean, you don't recall? They most certainly were. Something got in the way, though.
Also back in 2008 there was another little scheme, not a million miles away from what Rajoy has in mind for combating seasonality. Come on, you must remember the Winter in Spain campaign. Nope? Well, you wouldn't be the only one, as it was quietly forgotten about not long after it was announced. Yet this was all part of the drive to get those high-spending European oldsters beating a winter path to the Balearics and elsewhere; the same European oldsters who will now not be coming this winter because there's no money to subsidise their trips.
Despite having done his tourism homework, learnt his lines and acquired a status as the new guru of tourism, Rajoy is being pressurised by the tourism industry into giving them back their national tourism minister. There used to be one, the Mallorcan Joan Mesquida, before he got downgraded and became a mere secretary, or whatever it was he became. And he certainly knows a thing or two about tourism. As former finance minister for the Balearics, he was co-author of the eco-tax, that spectacular disaster of tourism PR that was jettisoned when the first Antich administration was turfed out of office.
There again, and as with the non-forthcoming 500 million investment and Winter in Spain campaign, this was all the fault of socialists. Haven't got a clue when it comes to tourism. Not like Rajoy, good old capitalist right-winger that he is. Mariano's going to have tourists flocking to Mallorca (and Spain) in winter, looking at birds and tucking into bowls of tumbet. No one's ever thought of that before. He's going to change the image of Spain and make it a tourist destination of quality with the quality tourists to match; none of the bloody riff-raff that's coming in at present on their easyJets.
Yep, tourism has a bright future under Mariano, as he is clearly a quick learner, and he doesn't always need the strategists to tell him what to say. The environment? No problem. Climate change doesn't exist, as his cousin told him it didn't. The economy? Well, he can probably a find a bloke in a pub to tell him how to fix that. And you wonder why, as Wikileaks proved, former premier Aznar has always had his doubts about him.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Somewhere in the bowels of PP HQ is a room where candidates are taken to be given their primers on subjects they have no knowledge of, like tourism for instance. Various strategists, PR people and speech-writers sit the candidates down and open the "Juanita y Juan" book of tourism made simple for politicians.
"Right now, Mariano, repeat after me. Quality tourism." "Quality tourism." "Good. Do you know what it means?" "Erm ..." "Not to worry because it doesn't mean anything. Now, listen carefully, I will read out a list of things that will overcome seasonality and I want you to then repeat them. Understood?" "Seasonality. Yes, good, it's a bit of problem for tourism. Isn't it?" "It is, so it's very important that you know what you're talking about. Here goes. Culture, nature, nautical, sport, film, gastronomy, bird-watching and golf." "Ah, golf! Yes. Seve Ballesteros. Fore!" "Yes, Mariano, unfortunately he is in fact dead."
Rajoy has certainly been taking his lessons seriously. He has come up with a cunning plan. He's going to tackle structural problems of the tourism sector, such as there being too many obsolete resorts. Gosh, what an original thought. Where have we heard this before? Ah yes, Playa de Palma. How long has it taken for its redevelopment not to occur? Only about seven years. So far.
What is actually meant by obsolete? Given that Spanish and Mallorcan resorts grew up in the sixties and seventies, it probably means they're all obsolete. The sort of investment that would be required to make them un-obsolete will mean they remain obsolete for a further 40 or 50 years, by which time they will probably have fallen down anyway.
But then, investment has been available. Or was. Supposedly. Go back to 2008 and you may recall that 500 million euros were going to be pumped into updating tourism resorts. What do you mean, you don't recall? They most certainly were. Something got in the way, though.
Also back in 2008 there was another little scheme, not a million miles away from what Rajoy has in mind for combating seasonality. Come on, you must remember the Winter in Spain campaign. Nope? Well, you wouldn't be the only one, as it was quietly forgotten about not long after it was announced. Yet this was all part of the drive to get those high-spending European oldsters beating a winter path to the Balearics and elsewhere; the same European oldsters who will now not be coming this winter because there's no money to subsidise their trips.
Despite having done his tourism homework, learnt his lines and acquired a status as the new guru of tourism, Rajoy is being pressurised by the tourism industry into giving them back their national tourism minister. There used to be one, the Mallorcan Joan Mesquida, before he got downgraded and became a mere secretary, or whatever it was he became. And he certainly knows a thing or two about tourism. As former finance minister for the Balearics, he was co-author of the eco-tax, that spectacular disaster of tourism PR that was jettisoned when the first Antich administration was turfed out of office.
There again, and as with the non-forthcoming 500 million investment and Winter in Spain campaign, this was all the fault of socialists. Haven't got a clue when it comes to tourism. Not like Rajoy, good old capitalist right-winger that he is. Mariano's going to have tourists flocking to Mallorca (and Spain) in winter, looking at birds and tucking into bowls of tumbet. No one's ever thought of that before. He's going to change the image of Spain and make it a tourist destination of quality with the quality tourists to match; none of the bloody riff-raff that's coming in at present on their easyJets.
Yep, tourism has a bright future under Mariano, as he is clearly a quick learner, and he doesn't always need the strategists to tell him what to say. The environment? No problem. Climate change doesn't exist, as his cousin told him it didn't. The economy? Well, he can probably a find a bloke in a pub to tell him how to fix that. And you wonder why, as Wikileaks proved, former premier Aznar has always had his doubts about him.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Friday, November 04, 2011
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 4 November 2011
Some overnight rain and it is a dull morning with a high of 17 but not much prospect of sun. The forecast is poor for several days with temperatures slipping.
Afternoon update: It has been pretty grim for much of the day. A storm in the morning was not as strong as in the south of the island where it was damaging. There was a further burst of rain in the afternoon, giving rainfalls by 17:00 of between 10 to 18mm depending on location. Intermittent sun with a high of 20 degrees.
Afternoon update: It has been pretty grim for much of the day. A storm in the morning was not as strong as in the south of the island where it was damaging. There was a further burst of rain in the afternoon, giving rainfalls by 17:00 of between 10 to 18mm depending on location. Intermittent sun with a high of 20 degrees.
Educational Apartheid: Languages in schools
It's the day of the "vuelta al cole" next September. By the school gates you wave goodbye as junior enters primary school for the first time. A tear in the eye but joy in the heart, as you will have decided that junior is to be taught in ... taught in which language?
From the start of the next school year there will be free parental choice as to the main teaching language at the voluntary nursery level and at primary level, but not at secondary level. This will be in line with the election manifesto of the Partido Popular government. After a fashion. There was meant also to have been free choice in secondary schools. There still will be, but not yet. It's all a question of money.
Electoral promises are fine, but they do require that the money exists to back them up. The Círculo Balear, the fiercely anti-Catalan and staunchly pro-Castilian organisation, reckons there is the budget, but then it probably would. The government says, however, that the education ministry needs to shed a 35 million euro debt before secondary schools are included. So this - 35 million, if you follow the government's logic - is what it costs to be able to offer secondary school teaching in the language of parents' choice.
The budget for education, and the ministry includes culture and university, will be down in 2012 by 55 million euros. With its budget already under strain, it could do without the complication of administering this choice. Because complication is what it is. The education minister, Rafael Bosch, has yet to decide exactly how the choice model will operate, though it would seem that he has in mind a mixture within the same school.
Let's get this straight, because I am struggling here and you may be able to help. Bosch has, mercifully it would seem, dismissed the possibility of separation into different centres along language lines, but he appears to be saying that there will be separate classes within one school for those being taught in Catalan or Castilian. Have I got this right? Because if I have, it may be good for parental choice but isn't when it comes to how schools function.
Schools are terrible places when it comes to "being different". And what you would arrive at with this system is one of apartheid based on language choice. The potential for us and them should not be underestimated.
Moreover, it is an us and them that has the potential to carry on beyond school years. If you want to create a situation of tension between Catalan and Castilian speakers, where better than to foment it than in schools. The notion of splitting along language lines goes against principles of child socialisation that schools should be aiding, not inhibiting.
The Círculo Balear believes that the PP has bowed to pressure from the "anti-democrats of the Catalanist minority", which it almost certainly hasn't. Give the PP its own fully free choice and it would probably happily get rid of Catalan from schools, but it is enforcing the provisions of the 1986 act that recognised the right of language choice, but which has since come to mean Catalan taking precedence.
The Círculo, however, may not be right in assuming that an overwhelming majority of parents want Castilian teaching. Back in June it was reported that parents, for the most part, were happy enough for Catalan to prevail. In which case, they'll be able to choose for it do so.
Apart from a budgetary constraint, the government's position may have been watered down (albeit perhaps temporarily) by the presence of Sr. Bosch, described as a moderate when he was made education minister.
But this moderation, while it ensures a greater role for Castilian while maintaining Catalan, creates a different problem; two in fact - greater expense plus the linguistic apartheid. The cost of education will have to increase, though not by as much as Sr. Bosch might have wanted, as his plan to add an hour to the school day has had to be held back for now because of lack of money.
Accommodating the two languages, to be fair to the government, is a thankless task. The purely pragmatic approach would be to make Castilian the language and make Catalan a language taught in specific lessons. Where many Catalan-preferring parents would probably have to agree is not with the Círculo Balear's posturing but with the notion of greater opportunity arising from Castilian.
But pragmatism is too simple when set against culture, history, arguments and tensions. Unfortunately, the government, while it is right in its free-choice policy, might find that it ends up exacerbating these tensions.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
From the start of the next school year there will be free parental choice as to the main teaching language at the voluntary nursery level and at primary level, but not at secondary level. This will be in line with the election manifesto of the Partido Popular government. After a fashion. There was meant also to have been free choice in secondary schools. There still will be, but not yet. It's all a question of money.
Electoral promises are fine, but they do require that the money exists to back them up. The Círculo Balear, the fiercely anti-Catalan and staunchly pro-Castilian organisation, reckons there is the budget, but then it probably would. The government says, however, that the education ministry needs to shed a 35 million euro debt before secondary schools are included. So this - 35 million, if you follow the government's logic - is what it costs to be able to offer secondary school teaching in the language of parents' choice.
The budget for education, and the ministry includes culture and university, will be down in 2012 by 55 million euros. With its budget already under strain, it could do without the complication of administering this choice. Because complication is what it is. The education minister, Rafael Bosch, has yet to decide exactly how the choice model will operate, though it would seem that he has in mind a mixture within the same school.
Let's get this straight, because I am struggling here and you may be able to help. Bosch has, mercifully it would seem, dismissed the possibility of separation into different centres along language lines, but he appears to be saying that there will be separate classes within one school for those being taught in Catalan or Castilian. Have I got this right? Because if I have, it may be good for parental choice but isn't when it comes to how schools function.
Schools are terrible places when it comes to "being different". And what you would arrive at with this system is one of apartheid based on language choice. The potential for us and them should not be underestimated.
Moreover, it is an us and them that has the potential to carry on beyond school years. If you want to create a situation of tension between Catalan and Castilian speakers, where better than to foment it than in schools. The notion of splitting along language lines goes against principles of child socialisation that schools should be aiding, not inhibiting.
The Círculo Balear believes that the PP has bowed to pressure from the "anti-democrats of the Catalanist minority", which it almost certainly hasn't. Give the PP its own fully free choice and it would probably happily get rid of Catalan from schools, but it is enforcing the provisions of the 1986 act that recognised the right of language choice, but which has since come to mean Catalan taking precedence.
The Círculo, however, may not be right in assuming that an overwhelming majority of parents want Castilian teaching. Back in June it was reported that parents, for the most part, were happy enough for Catalan to prevail. In which case, they'll be able to choose for it do so.
Apart from a budgetary constraint, the government's position may have been watered down (albeit perhaps temporarily) by the presence of Sr. Bosch, described as a moderate when he was made education minister.
But this moderation, while it ensures a greater role for Castilian while maintaining Catalan, creates a different problem; two in fact - greater expense plus the linguistic apartheid. The cost of education will have to increase, though not by as much as Sr. Bosch might have wanted, as his plan to add an hour to the school day has had to be held back for now because of lack of money.
Accommodating the two languages, to be fair to the government, is a thankless task. The purely pragmatic approach would be to make Castilian the language and make Catalan a language taught in specific lessons. Where many Catalan-preferring parents would probably have to agree is not with the Círculo Balear's posturing but with the notion of greater opportunity arising from Castilian.
But pragmatism is too simple when set against culture, history, arguments and tensions. Unfortunately, the government, while it is right in its free-choice policy, might find that it ends up exacerbating these tensions.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Thursday, November 03, 2011
MALLORCA TODAY - Circuses challenge Pollensa animal ban
Representatives of circuses have written to Pollensa town hall claiming that the town hall's decision to ban animals from circuses is not legally valid. They claim that the decision would not, for example, prevent circuses with animals on private land and that the decision could also be interpreted to prevent animals partaking in any form of fiesta in the town.
MALLORCA TODAY - British airlines call for lower airport taxes
Tour operators and airlines from the UK met yesterday with regional president Bauzá and tourism minister Delgado to discuss the need for lower airport taxes in order to stimulate more flights into Palma in the low season. Notwithstanding this, the airlines also pointed out that more needed to be done to ensure that establishments on Mallorca were open in winter.
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 3 November 2011
A grey but warm start to the day. Cloud thick over the mountains and looking threatening. The high locally though is 21 degrees at 08:30. Rain is on the cards for today but even more so tomorrow and through the weekend and into the start of next week.
Afternoon update: Rain has threatened all day but there have been only the odd drops. Otherwise, warm (a maximum of 25), at times windy and occasional sun. An alert is out for tomorrow for very heavy rain, especially in the Tramuntana mountain area.
Afternoon update: Rain has threatened all day but there have been only the odd drops. Otherwise, warm (a maximum of 25), at times windy and occasional sun. An alert is out for tomorrow for very heavy rain, especially in the Tramuntana mountain area.
The Gift Horse: The Euro crisis
Beware of Greeks bearing gifts. The advice has endured for many centuries. Far more recent is the advice to the Greeks to beware of Europeans bearing gifts, such as that which slashes what they owe by 50%. The Greeks, though, know a thing or two about deceptive gifts. They invented them. Or it. The European Trojan Horse that the Greeks are expected to admit into their walls comes stuffed with an army-load of more austerity. Ingrates they may be, sending the markets back into further turmoil, but when presented with a dubious gift, they do the only sensible thing - and that's to call a referendum.
When the Greeks say no and send the Trojan Horse packing, they'll be waving it goodbye from a dock side in Piraeus with banners proclaiming the default it was meant to avoid and their fond adieus to the Eurozone. Why bother waiting? Let them default now and get on with it.
Of course there is another way of looking at it. The referendum ruse is a way of extracting more gifts. 50%? Why not make it 25%? Or one can also see it as the Greeks wanting to get a bit of pride back. They have spent the last few months being portrayed as tax-swindling, idle ne'er-do-wells and now have to put up with Sarkozy saying that they made their numbers up on the back of a fag packet after a good night on the retsina.
Well, they probably did make up their numbers, pre-Euro admission, but then most European countries have played fast and loose to different degrees with "the rules". The French, for example.
In the days - when were they, as they seem like centuries ago - when Gordon Brown was arriving at his tests for the UK's entry into Euroland, a key measure was the ability to comply with the stability pact, the one that the French (and the Germans) regularly flouted. In fact, everyone did with the probable exception of the powerhouse that is Luxembourg.
Anyway, let's not worry too much about who made up what figures, more pressing is what happens when Greece goes totally belly-up, as in Papandreou loses the referendum, Greece exits the euro, total chaos ensues and hyperinflation takes over with the printers pumping out so many notes that it will require pantechnicons to carry the money and not the wheelbarrows of the Weimar Republic.
Hmm, ah yes, Weimar Republic, economic and political chaos, hyperinflation. The Germans should know all about what follows from such circumstances. Indeed the Greeks should have a shrewd idea what can happen as well.
But then it is only Greece. Except of course it isn't. There is always, well, Spain for instance. So just hypothesise for a moment. Poor old Mariano Rajoy, some time into his tenure as prime minister, finds himself in dire need of a bail-out, Europe comes along bearing gifts (assuming any of the trillion or so is left or the Chinese keep pumping money in) and effectively takes over the government, which, more or less, is what would happen in Greece. Referendum follows. Chaos ensues.
Leaving the Eurozone doesn't mean leaving the European Union, but much would depend on how the political chaos is handled. The Greeks, and the Spanish, have, when all said and done, some form. It wouldn't be a case of choosing to leave the European Union but of possibly being booted out. Idiotic concerns about having an identity residence card or not would be supplanted by rather different concerns.
The Spanish hypothesis might remain just that - an hypothesis. Much though a Greek no could create the long-anticipated domino effect that brings Spain to its financial knees, the possibility exists that Europe would still support Greece. It is also just possible that the Greeks would vote yes. Faced with more European-imposed austerity or leaving the Eurozone, they may decide to err in favour of the Euro.
Much might rest, however, on what voices come to the fore in the meantime. As this is as much a political as it is an economic issue, chuck some highly populist mouthpiece into the equation, one that damns Europe and anyone or anything else, and who knows what might happen. This might be the worry, either before or after a Greek referendum, and so it might also be for other countries, Spain included.
Whither the European Odyssey now? Who can predict with certainty, just as who could have predicted how the journey would unfold before the adventure was embarked upon. Whether the Greeks prefer to look a gift horse in the mouth will depend upon what they understand by "gift". In German the word means poison.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
When the Greeks say no and send the Trojan Horse packing, they'll be waving it goodbye from a dock side in Piraeus with banners proclaiming the default it was meant to avoid and their fond adieus to the Eurozone. Why bother waiting? Let them default now and get on with it.
Of course there is another way of looking at it. The referendum ruse is a way of extracting more gifts. 50%? Why not make it 25%? Or one can also see it as the Greeks wanting to get a bit of pride back. They have spent the last few months being portrayed as tax-swindling, idle ne'er-do-wells and now have to put up with Sarkozy saying that they made their numbers up on the back of a fag packet after a good night on the retsina.
Well, they probably did make up their numbers, pre-Euro admission, but then most European countries have played fast and loose to different degrees with "the rules". The French, for example.
In the days - when were they, as they seem like centuries ago - when Gordon Brown was arriving at his tests for the UK's entry into Euroland, a key measure was the ability to comply with the stability pact, the one that the French (and the Germans) regularly flouted. In fact, everyone did with the probable exception of the powerhouse that is Luxembourg.
Anyway, let's not worry too much about who made up what figures, more pressing is what happens when Greece goes totally belly-up, as in Papandreou loses the referendum, Greece exits the euro, total chaos ensues and hyperinflation takes over with the printers pumping out so many notes that it will require pantechnicons to carry the money and not the wheelbarrows of the Weimar Republic.
Hmm, ah yes, Weimar Republic, economic and political chaos, hyperinflation. The Germans should know all about what follows from such circumstances. Indeed the Greeks should have a shrewd idea what can happen as well.
But then it is only Greece. Except of course it isn't. There is always, well, Spain for instance. So just hypothesise for a moment. Poor old Mariano Rajoy, some time into his tenure as prime minister, finds himself in dire need of a bail-out, Europe comes along bearing gifts (assuming any of the trillion or so is left or the Chinese keep pumping money in) and effectively takes over the government, which, more or less, is what would happen in Greece. Referendum follows. Chaos ensues.
Leaving the Eurozone doesn't mean leaving the European Union, but much would depend on how the political chaos is handled. The Greeks, and the Spanish, have, when all said and done, some form. It wouldn't be a case of choosing to leave the European Union but of possibly being booted out. Idiotic concerns about having an identity residence card or not would be supplanted by rather different concerns.
The Spanish hypothesis might remain just that - an hypothesis. Much though a Greek no could create the long-anticipated domino effect that brings Spain to its financial knees, the possibility exists that Europe would still support Greece. It is also just possible that the Greeks would vote yes. Faced with more European-imposed austerity or leaving the Eurozone, they may decide to err in favour of the Euro.
Much might rest, however, on what voices come to the fore in the meantime. As this is as much a political as it is an economic issue, chuck some highly populist mouthpiece into the equation, one that damns Europe and anyone or anything else, and who knows what might happen. This might be the worry, either before or after a Greek referendum, and so it might also be for other countries, Spain included.
Whither the European Odyssey now? Who can predict with certainty, just as who could have predicted how the journey would unfold before the adventure was embarked upon. Whether the Greeks prefer to look a gift horse in the mouth will depend upon what they understand by "gift". In German the word means poison.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Wednesday, November 02, 2011
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 2 November 2011
A touch of overnight rain in parts but a fine and sunny morning with a high of 16 at 08:00. The outlook, as from tomorrow, is not particularly good for the next few days.
Afternoon update: Another reasonable day. Breezier but quite warm and mainly sunny with a high of 23.4.
Afternoon update: Another reasonable day. Breezier but quite warm and mainly sunny with a high of 23.4.
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