Morning high (7.10am): 15.9C
Forecast high: 22C; UV: 4
Three-day forecast: 12 October - Cloud, sun, 23C; 13 October - Rain, 21C; 14 October - Sun, cloud, 23C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): East 2 to 3 backing Northeast 4 during the morning. Swells of one metre.
Might be a spot of rain first thing. Mix of cloud and sun, improving later.
Evening update (22.30): High of 23.1C. Bit of rain. Some sun. Quite a bit of cloud.
Tuesday, October 11, 2016
Agriculture's Contribution To Tourism
There does perhaps need to be a reminder as to the "purposes" of the tourist tax. The text of the legislation published on 30 March for what is officially the "sustainable tourism tax" states what the revenue is intended for. Under Article 19, the first of five broad purposes reads: the protection, conservation, modernisation and recuperation of the natural, rural, agrarian and marine environment.
While this is a wide catch-all for environmental conservation, the third element (agrarian) is rather more specific than the other three. Or it appears to be. Agrarian conservation means aid to farming. Doesn't it? Well, not necessarily. There would be indirect benefits, but the intention is not for revenue to be spent as some form of aid to farmers but as a means of preserving agricultural land.
One accepts that the breadth of Article 19 is open to interpretation, but fundamentally the specific reference to "agrarian" is a recognition - at least in theory - of the need to maintain and improve the agricultural landscape. In so doing, again according to theory, the overall tourist experience will be enhanced.
Already, however, the interpretations are being opened. The union of farmers in Mallorca has demanded that revenue from the tax is made available to "support the work" of the farming community. It says that there should be an annual plan to assist with providing quality produce by means of compensation for work already done to preserve the landscape.
It has become evident that all manner of organisations, town halls and others are lobbying for tax revenue and are thus submitting their proposals accordingly. The farmers' union can therefore be excused for seeking a share of the pie even if, as was understood in the drafting of the legislation, financial aid for production wasn't intended to be part of the package.
As far as the general aim for agricultural landscape preservation is concerned, this seems reasonable enough. While I personally disagree with the ethos of the tax, now that it exists, then spending some of the cash in this way is laudable enough. The tourist experience is enhanced by landscapes of almond blossom, orange trees, vineyards, olive groves and what have you. These landscapes in themselves attract tourism, so why not spend some revenue on them?
Production is a different matter. The farmers would argue that the tourist experience will be further enhanced by there being "quality produce", but isn't there such quality already? What are all those marks for this that or the other, the designations of origin, the regulatory councils intended for, if not quality? It sounds as if the farmers may just be protesting too much.
It isn't as if this produce doesn't already find its way onto the plates and into the mouths of tourists. Hotels and restaurants have increasingly set about sourcing locally (a key aspect of sustainability that hasn't required the constant mention of the word, as it has been happening for a fair old time). There are regular promotions which involve the hotels. This summer, for instance, there was one for milk.
But note what the union says. Assistance would be to compensate for work done in preservation. This has echoes, for example, of what Arta town hall has argued. It has demanded greater financial contribution in recognition of the municipality having preserved its coastline and foregone the financial benefits of more intensive tourism. The town hall has a point but it is being somewhat disingenuous: the coastline and general infrastructure have been obstacles in any event. Likewise, the farmers are being disingenuous. Yes, they do preserve the landscape, but this comes with the territory, so to speak. It's part of what they do.
In a wider sense, what is or what should be the relationship between agriculture and tourism? The simple one, economically, is the provision of produce, and it is this relationship which underpins work by organisations such as Solimar International or which is contained in recommendations from the International Trade Centre. But this relationship has overwhelmingly been considered from the point of view of underdeveloped or developing economies: not comparatively mature ones such as Mallorca's.
As such, it is difficult to ascertain precisely what the relationship is and so what the benefit is or might be. Studies have looked at the contribution of agrotourism, for example, but this isn't what the government is driving at: it is the contribution of the landscape.
Where the farmers may have a point, however, is in guaranteeing the future of the agriculture sector and so its role in preservation. Over 60% of Mallorca's land is categorised as being for farming purposes. Agriculture may contribute a mere 1.1% to GDP and employ only 2.4% of the workforce (one that is getting older), but these aren't reasons not to maintain it or to preserve the land it uses. The use of the tax might actually constitute a groundbreaking initiative by the government.
While this is a wide catch-all for environmental conservation, the third element (agrarian) is rather more specific than the other three. Or it appears to be. Agrarian conservation means aid to farming. Doesn't it? Well, not necessarily. There would be indirect benefits, but the intention is not for revenue to be spent as some form of aid to farmers but as a means of preserving agricultural land.
One accepts that the breadth of Article 19 is open to interpretation, but fundamentally the specific reference to "agrarian" is a recognition - at least in theory - of the need to maintain and improve the agricultural landscape. In so doing, again according to theory, the overall tourist experience will be enhanced.
Already, however, the interpretations are being opened. The union of farmers in Mallorca has demanded that revenue from the tax is made available to "support the work" of the farming community. It says that there should be an annual plan to assist with providing quality produce by means of compensation for work already done to preserve the landscape.
It has become evident that all manner of organisations, town halls and others are lobbying for tax revenue and are thus submitting their proposals accordingly. The farmers' union can therefore be excused for seeking a share of the pie even if, as was understood in the drafting of the legislation, financial aid for production wasn't intended to be part of the package.
As far as the general aim for agricultural landscape preservation is concerned, this seems reasonable enough. While I personally disagree with the ethos of the tax, now that it exists, then spending some of the cash in this way is laudable enough. The tourist experience is enhanced by landscapes of almond blossom, orange trees, vineyards, olive groves and what have you. These landscapes in themselves attract tourism, so why not spend some revenue on them?
Production is a different matter. The farmers would argue that the tourist experience will be further enhanced by there being "quality produce", but isn't there such quality already? What are all those marks for this that or the other, the designations of origin, the regulatory councils intended for, if not quality? It sounds as if the farmers may just be protesting too much.
It isn't as if this produce doesn't already find its way onto the plates and into the mouths of tourists. Hotels and restaurants have increasingly set about sourcing locally (a key aspect of sustainability that hasn't required the constant mention of the word, as it has been happening for a fair old time). There are regular promotions which involve the hotels. This summer, for instance, there was one for milk.
But note what the union says. Assistance would be to compensate for work done in preservation. This has echoes, for example, of what Arta town hall has argued. It has demanded greater financial contribution in recognition of the municipality having preserved its coastline and foregone the financial benefits of more intensive tourism. The town hall has a point but it is being somewhat disingenuous: the coastline and general infrastructure have been obstacles in any event. Likewise, the farmers are being disingenuous. Yes, they do preserve the landscape, but this comes with the territory, so to speak. It's part of what they do.
In a wider sense, what is or what should be the relationship between agriculture and tourism? The simple one, economically, is the provision of produce, and it is this relationship which underpins work by organisations such as Solimar International or which is contained in recommendations from the International Trade Centre. But this relationship has overwhelmingly been considered from the point of view of underdeveloped or developing economies: not comparatively mature ones such as Mallorca's.
As such, it is difficult to ascertain precisely what the relationship is and so what the benefit is or might be. Studies have looked at the contribution of agrotourism, for example, but this isn't what the government is driving at: it is the contribution of the landscape.
Where the farmers may have a point, however, is in guaranteeing the future of the agriculture sector and so its role in preservation. Over 60% of Mallorca's land is categorised as being for farming purposes. Agriculture may contribute a mere 1.1% to GDP and employ only 2.4% of the workforce (one that is getting older), but these aren't reasons not to maintain it or to preserve the land it uses. The use of the tax might actually constitute a groundbreaking initiative by the government.
Monday, October 10, 2016
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 10 October 2016
Morning high (6.47am): 15.3C
Forecast high: 21C; UV: 4
Three-day forecast: 11 October - Cloud, 22C; 12 October - Cloud, sun, 23C; 13 October - Cloud, sun, 21C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): Northeast 4. Swells of one metre.
Expected to be mainly cloudy today. Outlook for the week unsettled with cloud and possible occasional showers.
Evening update (19.00): And it was mainly cloudy. High of 22.4C.
Forecast high: 21C; UV: 4
Three-day forecast: 11 October - Cloud, 22C; 12 October - Cloud, sun, 23C; 13 October - Cloud, sun, 21C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): Northeast 4. Swells of one metre.
Expected to be mainly cloudy today. Outlook for the week unsettled with cloud and possible occasional showers.
Evening update (19.00): And it was mainly cloudy. High of 22.4C.
Shielding The Balearics
They're thinking of erecting a shield. What might this be? Some giant, invisible forcefield floating above the Balearics, deflecting assaults from a Rajoy Air Force firing off lawsuits in attempts to prevent high explosive being placed under the Balearic budget and a hole being blasted into the deficit the size of the Gorg Blau reservoir (when full)?
Or might the shield be a human one, comprising the last remaining tourists to ever set foot on Balearic soil (all of it to be returned to a virginal state) before the tourist tax is put up one hundred fold? Those planning the shield were the Daves - April (of Més) and Spart (aka Alberto Jarabo of Podemos). The "pact" of government is to be shielded. Francina Armengol will be ushered into a bunker, occasionally emerging to engage in consensus and dialogue, while the Daves get on with the business of that deficit-blowing.
This is what happens, you see, when socialist parties implode (in Spain, at any rate). Rent asunder by the apparent willingness to anoint Mariano, the socialists of the Balearics were cast further adrift from peninsula (or any other) reality than the 250 kilometres or so typically allow them to operate in less than splendid isolation. It was the socialists themselves who required shielding. The Daves were making overtures to them. Come and join us. We open our hearts to PSOE-ites whose hearts might otherwise be pierced by the knife of Rajoy investiture.
Francina, meanwhile, was all for going it alone in a socialist fashion. Pedro Sánchez, not beware the Ides of October, had been knifed - "Et tu, Susana?". The betrayal of socialist principles (as in allowing Rajoy to carry on), delivered with the stab in Sánchéz's back, was sufficient for Francina to consider isolating Balearic socialists even more. PSIB would mean PSIB. No more PSOE, that's for sure.
Adding to this mayhem, Dave April was speaking about sovereignty. Might the 2019 regional election become a referendum for Balearic independence? Dave was neither ruling it out nor ruling it in, which was something of a theme of the week. What actually were they thinking about the tourist tax? The official line was that there would be no increase in 2017. Finance minister (for now) Catalina Cladera insisted there wouldn't be, but then sort of didn't insist. Her position is vulnerable, and she knows it. Podemos had invited themselves into the budget-setting process for next year. Next it'll be places in the government. Tourist tax increase, anyone? Don't mind if we do. Any advance on ten times more?
The Podemos Dave - Alberto - first said that it would be "interesting" to "help" to design the budget for 2017, by which he meant write it. Interesting became yes we will design it, and Podemos are already dictating next year's strategy, one by which the Balearic manufacturing sector will, along with the agricultural sector, rise to a position of world dominance. Or maybe not; globalisation not exactly sitting well with anti-capitalists. Hoteliers will meanwhile be packed off to agrarian labour camps for re-education and to cultivate dwindling stocks of carobs.
Piece by piece the shield was being put into place. All in all some further bricks in the wall, each marked Podemos.
Or might the shield be a human one, comprising the last remaining tourists to ever set foot on Balearic soil (all of it to be returned to a virginal state) before the tourist tax is put up one hundred fold? Those planning the shield were the Daves - April (of Més) and Spart (aka Alberto Jarabo of Podemos). The "pact" of government is to be shielded. Francina Armengol will be ushered into a bunker, occasionally emerging to engage in consensus and dialogue, while the Daves get on with the business of that deficit-blowing.
This is what happens, you see, when socialist parties implode (in Spain, at any rate). Rent asunder by the apparent willingness to anoint Mariano, the socialists of the Balearics were cast further adrift from peninsula (or any other) reality than the 250 kilometres or so typically allow them to operate in less than splendid isolation. It was the socialists themselves who required shielding. The Daves were making overtures to them. Come and join us. We open our hearts to PSOE-ites whose hearts might otherwise be pierced by the knife of Rajoy investiture.
Francina, meanwhile, was all for going it alone in a socialist fashion. Pedro Sánchez, not beware the Ides of October, had been knifed - "Et tu, Susana?". The betrayal of socialist principles (as in allowing Rajoy to carry on), delivered with the stab in Sánchéz's back, was sufficient for Francina to consider isolating Balearic socialists even more. PSIB would mean PSIB. No more PSOE, that's for sure.
Adding to this mayhem, Dave April was speaking about sovereignty. Might the 2019 regional election become a referendum for Balearic independence? Dave was neither ruling it out nor ruling it in, which was something of a theme of the week. What actually were they thinking about the tourist tax? The official line was that there would be no increase in 2017. Finance minister (for now) Catalina Cladera insisted there wouldn't be, but then sort of didn't insist. Her position is vulnerable, and she knows it. Podemos had invited themselves into the budget-setting process for next year. Next it'll be places in the government. Tourist tax increase, anyone? Don't mind if we do. Any advance on ten times more?
The Podemos Dave - Alberto - first said that it would be "interesting" to "help" to design the budget for 2017, by which he meant write it. Interesting became yes we will design it, and Podemos are already dictating next year's strategy, one by which the Balearic manufacturing sector will, along with the agricultural sector, rise to a position of world dominance. Or maybe not; globalisation not exactly sitting well with anti-capitalists. Hoteliers will meanwhile be packed off to agrarian labour camps for re-education and to cultivate dwindling stocks of carobs.
Piece by piece the shield was being put into place. All in all some further bricks in the wall, each marked Podemos.
Sunday, October 09, 2016
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 9 October 2016
Morning high (8.12am): 18.6C
Forecast high: 23C; UV: 4
Three-day forecast: 10 October - Sun, cloud, 22C; 11 October - Sun, cloud, 22C; 12 October - Rain, 22C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): East 4 backing Northeast. Swells to one metre.
Cloudy start and supposedly due to be mostly cloudy during the day with the possibility of a spot of a storm this evening.
Evening update (19.00): Not much sun. Cloud never that heavy though. High of 23.6C.
Forecast high: 23C; UV: 4
Three-day forecast: 10 October - Sun, cloud, 22C; 11 October - Sun, cloud, 22C; 12 October - Rain, 22C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): East 4 backing Northeast. Swells to one metre.
Cloudy start and supposedly due to be mostly cloudy during the day with the possibility of a spot of a storm this evening.
Evening update (19.00): Not much sun. Cloud never that heavy though. High of 23.6C.
From Cuba With Love: Havaneres
In 1860, a composer by the name of Sebastián de Iradier Salaverri went to Cuba. He himself was from the Basque Country and was born in the small town of Lanciego. Sebastián was to die five years after his voyage to Cuba. He didn't live to appreciate quite what he had done, because musically Sebastián had in effect created a musical genre.
One hundred years after he wrote his defining song, a version of it was to be sung by someone who was very much responsible for a musical genre. In the 1961 film "Blue Hawaii", Elvis Presley adopted a somewhat less raunchy style than the one he had been previously famed for. He sang a song that was like a lullaby, but it was an upbeat lullaby with a lusciousness that may have been appropriate for Hawaii but which had been created in Cuba. The song was "No More". Don Robertson and Hal Blair were credited as the writers, but a third name was credited as well - Sebastián Iradier. The song was his. Its original title was "La Paloma".
This is a song that has been recorded hundreds of times. It has been renamed, reinterpreted and reproduced in different languages. Notable among those who have sung it in Spanish is Julio Iglesias. An English version of the original was to be recorded by Nana Mouskouri. What all these versions shared, including the one transported to Hawaii for Elvis, was the genre that Sebastián Iradier was responsible for - the habanera.
Strictly speaking, Sebastián didn't invent the genre. He popularised what already existed. Some twenty years prior to his composing "La Paloma", an article had appeared in an Havana newspaper "La Prensa". It spoke of "the love in the dance". The habanera was both song and dance, something rooted in Cuban culture.
In 1875, the opera "Carmen" by the French composer Georges Bizet was premiered in Paris. It featured a habanera - "Love Is A Rebellious Bird" - and so the style, it might be said, had entered the musical mainstream, where it has stayed ever since.
The habanera, through its clear association with Spain because of the one-time colonial relationship and Sebastián Iradier's song, was to follow different pathways. One of these led to Catalonia where other musical traditions from the Americas, such as rumba, were to undergo a Catalanisation. A popular culture of the Catalan "havanera", a song typically sung in a tavern, took hold, but as with other aspects of Catalan culture it was to suffer from Franco's repression.
Despite this, in 1948 a book was published of the scores of various songs, and these were to help what was a havanera branch line of the so-called "Nova Canció", the new song of the Catalans that was a movement from the 1950s.
In 1966 in a tavern in the tiny fishing village of Calella de Palafrugell in Girona (Catalonia), they held a small song festival. That 1966 "cantada" has become one of the most celebrated occasions in marking out the rediscovery of Catalan folk music tradition. There is still an annual festival, a gathering of havaneres. The tiny village, and it remains tiny, attracts some 30,000 people each July. This year, as will be obvious, marks the fiftieth anniversary of one of the more extraordinary moments in contemporary cultural development.
The havanera and groups of havaneres crossed over the sea to Mallorca. Local groups began to be formed and were part of the peculiar mix of traditional and modern that characterised Mallorcan popular music by the late 1960s. That was an era of cheesy pop, of angst-filled folk and of the truly bizarre - I really must tell the story some time of Los 4 de Asís, the quartet of singing Franciscan monks.
Havaneres are now highly popular. Groups such as Sotavent, who come from Alcudia, are regular performers at fiesta time. These aren't exclusively fiestas in coastal areas, but these are where you might most typically run across havaneres. And in one coastal area - Puerto Soller - they've been holding a gathering ("trobada") of havaneres: the seventh such festival. This is a gathering just like it was fifty years ago in a tiny fishing village in Catalonia.
* The video comes from an IB3 "Alcudia special" from 2010. Some of you may be able to recognise town hall councillors past and present.
Saturday, October 08, 2016
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 8 October 2016
Morning high (7.00am): 18.6C
Forecast high: 24C; UV: 5
Three-day forecast: 9 October - Cloud, sun, 23C; 10 October - Cloud, sun, 21C; 11 October - Cloud, 23C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): South 3 to 4 veering North-Northeast from midday.
A fair chance of some rain and storm; yellow alerts in place.
Evening update (19.00): Well, that didn't go to plan at all. Yes, there was a fair amount of cloud but rather more sun. Not a murmur or drop from the skies. High of 29.3C.
Forecast high: 24C; UV: 5
Three-day forecast: 9 October - Cloud, sun, 23C; 10 October - Cloud, sun, 21C; 11 October - Cloud, 23C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): South 3 to 4 veering North-Northeast from midday.
A fair chance of some rain and storm; yellow alerts in place.
Evening update (19.00): Well, that didn't go to plan at all. Yes, there was a fair amount of cloud but rather more sun. Not a murmur or drop from the skies. High of 29.3C.
Bringing All-Inclusives To Account
Biel Barceló told parliament's tourism committee earlier this week that sixteen fines had been handed out to all-inclusive hotels. Quite what they were fined for was not made clear. Was it simply for having been offering all-inclusive when the hotels were not on the ministry's all-inclusive register? That wasn't the implication. Eighty all-inclusives had been "reviewed", he said, and they had been reviewed for that very reason - not having been on the register. Why not just fine them all? What is the purpose of a register? It's not meant to be voluntary. If a hotel hasn't registered, what has it got to hide?
Barceló was self-congratulatory in having been able to announce the sixteen fines. Sixteen. Hardly a princely sum. Where he was more deserving of congratulation was in being able to say that there hadn't been inspections in either 2014 or 2015. His government can be partly forgiven for 2015 as it didn't come to power until high summer was more or less upon it, but why no inspections the previous year? And what about inspections in years before that?
Another tourism minister called Barceló, Joana, was the final of the four incumbents of the post during the Antich government of 2007 to 2011. I can well recall her answering a question about all-inclusives by saying that inspections were made and that her government was being strong in this regard. Strange, therefore, how we never heard any more or from the subsequent government. All-inclusives, we were being led to believe, had a clean bill-of-health.
Let's be clear, there are different types of AI. It is a package that can be either total (it's the only option) or just one of the forms of board on offer. It is not by any means solely something from the economy end of the market. There are good - very good - hotels with AI, and the standard of the offer is also good. Service is good, the food is varied, there's no watered-down beer and there are no dodgy local brands of spirits. Should we assume that the sixteen fines were not directed at any of this class of hotel?
At the economy end, anyone with the slightest knowledge knows what the deal is. And part of that deal is the on-arrival upgrade (which may also exist with better hotels). Then there is the daily deal. Bringing in people who aren't guests. When this offer was explained to Pilar Carbonell, the director-general of tourism, at a meeting in Alcudia this time last year, it was clear that she was unaware of such a practice. And she's the director-general.
When there was some rumpus about self-service alcohol in Magalluf AIs last year, Barceló seemed surprised. He was then scandalised by the level of apparent drunkenness. And he's the tourism minister.
What tourism worlds do politicians inhabit, because it clearly isn't the one that is right at the coalface of Mallorca's economy-class tourism. Good luck to Barceló with his "regulations" of AI, but what are these going to be? Improving quality standards, we understand. Yes, and the 2012 tourism law already makes provision for this. It's never been enforced and nor has it been made clear what these standards are or should be. Are we going to find out next year? Perhaps so. In which case, will they include staff-guest ratios to ensure no queuing or only short queues? Will they stipulate what's on the menu, what drinks can be served, what type of treatment guests receive?
It's high time that some AIs were brought to account. They cannot be banned because the market will not allow this, but requirements can be made tough enough that the AI model ceases to be viable. If Barceló, as seems evident, wishes to impose tough standards on private accommodation to be rented for holiday purposes, then he should do likewise with the standards of AI. Yes, there are some poor-grade tourists who go to certain economy-class AI hotels, but when they are then treated as poor grade, you get what is too often the case: a vicious circle of unedifying tourism.
Barceló was self-congratulatory in having been able to announce the sixteen fines. Sixteen. Hardly a princely sum. Where he was more deserving of congratulation was in being able to say that there hadn't been inspections in either 2014 or 2015. His government can be partly forgiven for 2015 as it didn't come to power until high summer was more or less upon it, but why no inspections the previous year? And what about inspections in years before that?
Another tourism minister called Barceló, Joana, was the final of the four incumbents of the post during the Antich government of 2007 to 2011. I can well recall her answering a question about all-inclusives by saying that inspections were made and that her government was being strong in this regard. Strange, therefore, how we never heard any more or from the subsequent government. All-inclusives, we were being led to believe, had a clean bill-of-health.
Let's be clear, there are different types of AI. It is a package that can be either total (it's the only option) or just one of the forms of board on offer. It is not by any means solely something from the economy end of the market. There are good - very good - hotels with AI, and the standard of the offer is also good. Service is good, the food is varied, there's no watered-down beer and there are no dodgy local brands of spirits. Should we assume that the sixteen fines were not directed at any of this class of hotel?
At the economy end, anyone with the slightest knowledge knows what the deal is. And part of that deal is the on-arrival upgrade (which may also exist with better hotels). Then there is the daily deal. Bringing in people who aren't guests. When this offer was explained to Pilar Carbonell, the director-general of tourism, at a meeting in Alcudia this time last year, it was clear that she was unaware of such a practice. And she's the director-general.
When there was some rumpus about self-service alcohol in Magalluf AIs last year, Barceló seemed surprised. He was then scandalised by the level of apparent drunkenness. And he's the tourism minister.
What tourism worlds do politicians inhabit, because it clearly isn't the one that is right at the coalface of Mallorca's economy-class tourism. Good luck to Barceló with his "regulations" of AI, but what are these going to be? Improving quality standards, we understand. Yes, and the 2012 tourism law already makes provision for this. It's never been enforced and nor has it been made clear what these standards are or should be. Are we going to find out next year? Perhaps so. In which case, will they include staff-guest ratios to ensure no queuing or only short queues? Will they stipulate what's on the menu, what drinks can be served, what type of treatment guests receive?
It's high time that some AIs were brought to account. They cannot be banned because the market will not allow this, but requirements can be made tough enough that the AI model ceases to be viable. If Barceló, as seems evident, wishes to impose tough standards on private accommodation to be rented for holiday purposes, then he should do likewise with the standards of AI. Yes, there are some poor-grade tourists who go to certain economy-class AI hotels, but when they are then treated as poor grade, you get what is too often the case: a vicious circle of unedifying tourism.
Friday, October 07, 2016
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 7 October 2016
Morning high (6.50am): 15.6C
Forecast high: 26C; UV: 5
Three-day forecast: 8 October - Cloud, 25C; 9 October - Cloud, 23C; 10 October - Cloud, sun, 22C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): East 2 to 3 veering South late on.
Noticeably cooler this morning. Stars are out. Should be reasonable today, but cloudy at times. The weekend doesn't look that good.
Evening update (19.15): Ok-ish. Warm enough. High of 28.5C.
Forecast high: 26C; UV: 5
Three-day forecast: 8 October - Cloud, 25C; 9 October - Cloud, 23C; 10 October - Cloud, sun, 22C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): East 2 to 3 veering South late on.
Noticeably cooler this morning. Stars are out. Should be reasonable today, but cloudy at times. The weekend doesn't look that good.
Evening update (19.15): Ok-ish. Warm enough. High of 28.5C.
Justice On Trial: Caso Gürtel
There's a major trial taking place. One into corruption. Remarkably enough, it isn't taking place in Mallorca. Even more remarkably, there aren't any Mallorcan politicians in the dock. This isn't to say, however, that there are not Mallorcan implications. One of them may involve former president Jaume Matas (when doesn't it?)
This is the first major trial to do with caso Gürtel, a corruption investigation that has taken so long and is so complicated that it defies any simple explanation. Even the name of the case isn't straightforward. Gürtel is German. It means belt. The choice of name disguised the individual at the heart of the network that spawned the case: Francisco Correa - Frank Belt, if you like.
To say that Gürtel is just about kickbacks would be way too simplistic. This was a web that was woven around the business affairs of Francisco Correa, who had long cultivated links with - who else - the Partido Popular. Gürtel covers illegal funding of the PP and the favourable awarding of contracts (different public authorities are implicated, including both the regional community of Madrid and the Madrid town hall). Money laundering, tax havens and tax evasion, bribery - they're all there.
If this sounds familiar - one can think of the Nóos trial, for instance - it is, but while Nóos and the alleged activities of the husband of Princess Cristina and his associate embraced some six million euros, that was chicken feed compared with Gürtel. The exact amounts have never accurately been established. The total has been put at as much as 120,000,000 euros.
Gürtel isn't simply (what am I saying - simply?) about massive corruption. It is a trial that has also placed the Spanish judicial system in the dock because of that system's potential for manipulation by political forces. In order to understand this, one has to go back to the origins of the investigations and who launched them. The investigating judge in 2009 - yes, that's when the legal ball started to roll - was Baltasar Garzón. He was to be suspended the following year. Not because of Gürtel but because it was argued that he had exceeded his powers in investigating war crimes committed by the Franco regime.
Garzón had his enemies in the legal profession, but he also had them in the Partido Popular. The Franco angle did somewhat obscure the motives for having him suspended. He was readmitted, only to be suspended again because he had ordered recordings of suspects and lawyers involved in Gürtel. All the while, there was the unmistakable influence of the PP.
But getting Garzón removed didn't end the investigation. Even more life was to be breathed into it when the revelations came about the so-called B accounts that had been operated by former PP treasurer Luis Bárcenas (one of those now on trial). These too pointed to illegal party funding. Gürtel and Bárcenas are intimately linked.
If the PP had hoped that Gürtel would go away along with Gárzon, it was very much mistaken, and Gürtel, given its sheer scale, gave political momentum to others - Podemos most obviously. Pablo Iglesias's party and indeed the C's of Albert Rivera had corruption firmly in their sights. Yet despite this momentum and therefore the political situation that currently exists, what do we get? The trial has opened with legal challenges. They have come from defence lawyers, but giving these lawyers support is the PP. It almost beggars belief but the PP, via its lawyer, agrees that there is a list of reasons for having the whole trial process stopped in its tracks. And what might these reasons include? Baltasar Garzón. The investigating judge and those recordings.
The irregularities that surrounded Garzón were also said to have related to his having been designated as investigating judge. In other words, it is claimed that his was a political appointment (he has never disguised being sympathetic to PSOE).
So, it can be said that there were politics on both sides; that the judicial system was open to differing political influences. Where Garzón was concerned, there was probably also his own self-view. He was a celebrated judge by then, but this fame is another facet in suggesting that the judicial system is on trial. Investigating judges become famous. Mallorca has a couple of very well-known ones: José Castro, as much a people's hero as Garzón was to many, for his pursuit of Jaume Matas and Iñaki Urdangarin; Manuel Penalva, heading the investigation into Palma police corruption.
The system therefore creates celebrities out of judges, and much though they would always seek to remain impartial and within the rules, there can also be human fallibility. And political leanings are occasionally exposed. Take Juan Pedro Yllanes, now a Podemos deputy in Congress, who had originally been due to preside over Nóos.
Justice must be seen to be done. With Gürtel, whether it will or will be allowed to is another matter.
This is the first major trial to do with caso Gürtel, a corruption investigation that has taken so long and is so complicated that it defies any simple explanation. Even the name of the case isn't straightforward. Gürtel is German. It means belt. The choice of name disguised the individual at the heart of the network that spawned the case: Francisco Correa - Frank Belt, if you like.
To say that Gürtel is just about kickbacks would be way too simplistic. This was a web that was woven around the business affairs of Francisco Correa, who had long cultivated links with - who else - the Partido Popular. Gürtel covers illegal funding of the PP and the favourable awarding of contracts (different public authorities are implicated, including both the regional community of Madrid and the Madrid town hall). Money laundering, tax havens and tax evasion, bribery - they're all there.
If this sounds familiar - one can think of the Nóos trial, for instance - it is, but while Nóos and the alleged activities of the husband of Princess Cristina and his associate embraced some six million euros, that was chicken feed compared with Gürtel. The exact amounts have never accurately been established. The total has been put at as much as 120,000,000 euros.
Gürtel isn't simply (what am I saying - simply?) about massive corruption. It is a trial that has also placed the Spanish judicial system in the dock because of that system's potential for manipulation by political forces. In order to understand this, one has to go back to the origins of the investigations and who launched them. The investigating judge in 2009 - yes, that's when the legal ball started to roll - was Baltasar Garzón. He was to be suspended the following year. Not because of Gürtel but because it was argued that he had exceeded his powers in investigating war crimes committed by the Franco regime.
Garzón had his enemies in the legal profession, but he also had them in the Partido Popular. The Franco angle did somewhat obscure the motives for having him suspended. He was readmitted, only to be suspended again because he had ordered recordings of suspects and lawyers involved in Gürtel. All the while, there was the unmistakable influence of the PP.
But getting Garzón removed didn't end the investigation. Even more life was to be breathed into it when the revelations came about the so-called B accounts that had been operated by former PP treasurer Luis Bárcenas (one of those now on trial). These too pointed to illegal party funding. Gürtel and Bárcenas are intimately linked.
If the PP had hoped that Gürtel would go away along with Gárzon, it was very much mistaken, and Gürtel, given its sheer scale, gave political momentum to others - Podemos most obviously. Pablo Iglesias's party and indeed the C's of Albert Rivera had corruption firmly in their sights. Yet despite this momentum and therefore the political situation that currently exists, what do we get? The trial has opened with legal challenges. They have come from defence lawyers, but giving these lawyers support is the PP. It almost beggars belief but the PP, via its lawyer, agrees that there is a list of reasons for having the whole trial process stopped in its tracks. And what might these reasons include? Baltasar Garzón. The investigating judge and those recordings.
The irregularities that surrounded Garzón were also said to have related to his having been designated as investigating judge. In other words, it is claimed that his was a political appointment (he has never disguised being sympathetic to PSOE).
So, it can be said that there were politics on both sides; that the judicial system was open to differing political influences. Where Garzón was concerned, there was probably also his own self-view. He was a celebrated judge by then, but this fame is another facet in suggesting that the judicial system is on trial. Investigating judges become famous. Mallorca has a couple of very well-known ones: José Castro, as much a people's hero as Garzón was to many, for his pursuit of Jaume Matas and Iñaki Urdangarin; Manuel Penalva, heading the investigation into Palma police corruption.
The system therefore creates celebrities out of judges, and much though they would always seek to remain impartial and within the rules, there can also be human fallibility. And political leanings are occasionally exposed. Take Juan Pedro Yllanes, now a Podemos deputy in Congress, who had originally been due to preside over Nóos.
Justice must be seen to be done. With Gürtel, whether it will or will be allowed to is another matter.
Thursday, October 06, 2016
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 6 October 2016
Morning high (7.03am): 17.8C
Forecast high: 23C; UV: 5
Three-day forecast: 7 October - Cloud, sun, 26C; 8 October - Cloud, sun, 26C; 9 October - Cloud, 22C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): South 2 to 3 backing East towards the evening.
Alerts for storm and rain today, with temperatures down. Tomorrow mostly cloudy but with less risk of rain.
Evening update (19.15): Quite a bit of thunder, especially around midday, accompanied by a heavy downpour. Further rain later on, but rainfall again unevenly distributed. Not a lot of sun. High of 22.7C.
Forecast high: 23C; UV: 5
Three-day forecast: 7 October - Cloud, sun, 26C; 8 October - Cloud, sun, 26C; 9 October - Cloud, 22C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): South 2 to 3 backing East towards the evening.
Alerts for storm and rain today, with temperatures down. Tomorrow mostly cloudy but with less risk of rain.
Evening update (19.15): Quite a bit of thunder, especially around midday, accompanied by a heavy downpour. Further rain later on, but rainfall again unevenly distributed. Not a lot of sun. High of 22.7C.
The Forgotten Museum Of Water
Who among you remembers the museum of water? None of you? Then let me remind you. The museum, also provisionally and variously known as the touristic-environmental or environmental and education interpretation centre, was a project hatched by the last PSOE-led administration in the Balearics. The director of the then office of analysis and forecasting of the cabinet of the president was forced to announce in December 2010 that the project to create the museum was to be "parked", meaning on hold, also meaning there wasn't the slightest intention of going ahead with it.
Not that this was how it was put. It would be a project for the following legislature, the one due to begin in June of 2011. It never of course had the remotest chance of being a project for that legislature. For starters, PSOE and what remained of its coalition (the anonymously monikered Bloc, i.e. Biel Barceló and chums) were removed from office. In came the PP, and José Ramón Bauzá set about his austerity measures. It's unlikely he ever gave the museum a moment's thought. Unlikely that anyone else did either, including PSOE.
Museums of water do exist. There's one in Rotterdam, one in Saint Petersburg. There's a museum of water and steam in Brentford, which is sort of West London. But those other museums were not the ones that had attracted the attention of the then government. They had their eyes on what had been put in Zaragoza in 2008: The Expo for Water and Sustainable Development.
The expo had cost a great deal of money. Earlier this year, an in-depth report considered the consequences of that expo. All 266 million of them. That's the debt that is outstanding. It will take the city of Zaragoza decades to ever repay it.
At the back end of 2010, the true financial disaster of the expo was only starting to become apparent. Those were times of crisis and of increasing scrutiny of grand projects that had been dreamt up by Spanish municipalities, provinces and regions when the money had never looked likely to dry up and few questions had ever been asked as to suitability or wisdom.
The Balearic government had the idea to reuse the pavilion it had at the expo. Basically, all the material from the pavilion, or most of it, was to have been used in recreating the pavilion or some other structure. Where? Well, they never really got as far as truly identifying a suitable location, though three sites in Palma were mentioned in dispatches: the Intermodal Station; the desalination plant; and the Son Pacs water distribution centre. Another place was the Parc de la Mar, which in fact had been the original intention.
The project, though, was "parked". To the best of my knowledge, it has never been raised again as a potential project. There are, however, some questions, such as what ever became of all the stuff that had gone into the making of the Balearic pavilion. Some was reused, and this was explained when the parking of the project occurred. But what of the rest, for this had been something with a total value of around two million euros which had consisted of, among other things, various audiovisual projections in what were essentially tanks. They showed, for instance, the ways in which various cultures had managed water in the Balearics - from prehistoric times to the current day.
Perhaps all the kit and various fixtures and fittings were put to good use. But as there hasn't been a peep about this project for nigh on six years, who can really say. Like the project itself, the bits and pieces for the pavilion were forgotten about.
The overall value of the pavilion plus all other costs that would have been incurred for staffing at the expo and other reasons were only a small fraction of what the expo cost Zaragoza. But in the same way as the expo had been a grandiose scheme, so participation was also grandiose. What did it achieve? Anything?
It is perhaps ironic that an expo which proclaimed sustainable development should have ended up lumbering Zaragoza with an unsustainable debt. But it, as also with what went into the expo, such as the Balearic pavilion, were from an era when accountability was all but non-existent. Now, we hope, there is accountability, and oddly enough now might be the time to reconsider the museum of water.
There is a great need to raise awareness of water use and of water as a sustainable resource. Information campaigns can do so much, but what if there were a museum, suitably all singing and dancing but with a fundamental mission to stress the importance of water to resident and tourist alike? Might the awareness be that much greater? And how would it be funded? How do you think? The tourist tax, now being spent on water.
Not that this was how it was put. It would be a project for the following legislature, the one due to begin in June of 2011. It never of course had the remotest chance of being a project for that legislature. For starters, PSOE and what remained of its coalition (the anonymously monikered Bloc, i.e. Biel Barceló and chums) were removed from office. In came the PP, and José Ramón Bauzá set about his austerity measures. It's unlikely he ever gave the museum a moment's thought. Unlikely that anyone else did either, including PSOE.
Museums of water do exist. There's one in Rotterdam, one in Saint Petersburg. There's a museum of water and steam in Brentford, which is sort of West London. But those other museums were not the ones that had attracted the attention of the then government. They had their eyes on what had been put in Zaragoza in 2008: The Expo for Water and Sustainable Development.
The expo had cost a great deal of money. Earlier this year, an in-depth report considered the consequences of that expo. All 266 million of them. That's the debt that is outstanding. It will take the city of Zaragoza decades to ever repay it.
At the back end of 2010, the true financial disaster of the expo was only starting to become apparent. Those were times of crisis and of increasing scrutiny of grand projects that had been dreamt up by Spanish municipalities, provinces and regions when the money had never looked likely to dry up and few questions had ever been asked as to suitability or wisdom.
The Balearic government had the idea to reuse the pavilion it had at the expo. Basically, all the material from the pavilion, or most of it, was to have been used in recreating the pavilion or some other structure. Where? Well, they never really got as far as truly identifying a suitable location, though three sites in Palma were mentioned in dispatches: the Intermodal Station; the desalination plant; and the Son Pacs water distribution centre. Another place was the Parc de la Mar, which in fact had been the original intention.
The project, though, was "parked". To the best of my knowledge, it has never been raised again as a potential project. There are, however, some questions, such as what ever became of all the stuff that had gone into the making of the Balearic pavilion. Some was reused, and this was explained when the parking of the project occurred. But what of the rest, for this had been something with a total value of around two million euros which had consisted of, among other things, various audiovisual projections in what were essentially tanks. They showed, for instance, the ways in which various cultures had managed water in the Balearics - from prehistoric times to the current day.
Perhaps all the kit and various fixtures and fittings were put to good use. But as there hasn't been a peep about this project for nigh on six years, who can really say. Like the project itself, the bits and pieces for the pavilion were forgotten about.
The overall value of the pavilion plus all other costs that would have been incurred for staffing at the expo and other reasons were only a small fraction of what the expo cost Zaragoza. But in the same way as the expo had been a grandiose scheme, so participation was also grandiose. What did it achieve? Anything?
It is perhaps ironic that an expo which proclaimed sustainable development should have ended up lumbering Zaragoza with an unsustainable debt. But it, as also with what went into the expo, such as the Balearic pavilion, were from an era when accountability was all but non-existent. Now, we hope, there is accountability, and oddly enough now might be the time to reconsider the museum of water.
There is a great need to raise awareness of water use and of water as a sustainable resource. Information campaigns can do so much, but what if there were a museum, suitably all singing and dancing but with a fundamental mission to stress the importance of water to resident and tourist alike? Might the awareness be that much greater? And how would it be funded? How do you think? The tourist tax, now being spent on water.
Wednesday, October 05, 2016
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 5 October 2016
Morning high (6.35am): 19.7C
Forecast high: 25C; UV: 5
Three-day forecast: 6 October - Cloud, 23C; 7 October - Sun, cloud, 26C; 8 October - Cloud, sun, 27C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): East-Northeast 2 to 3.
Looking fine for today but a bit ominous for tomorrow: possible storms. Was reminded that nine years ago yesterday was when the tornado struck. October can serve up some weather "events".
Evening update (20.30): High of 27C. Good enough day. Storms tomorrow.
Forecast high: 25C; UV: 5
Three-day forecast: 6 October - Cloud, 23C; 7 October - Sun, cloud, 26C; 8 October - Cloud, sun, 27C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): East-Northeast 2 to 3.
Looking fine for today but a bit ominous for tomorrow: possible storms. Was reminded that nine years ago yesterday was when the tornado struck. October can serve up some weather "events".
Evening update (20.30): High of 27C. Good enough day. Storms tomorrow.
The Price Of Quality?: Holidays 2017
The price of Mallorcan holidays is going up. Or so it seems. You can judge only so much from social network comments, but when you learn of increases for packages that involve unremarkable accommodation which are anything from 300 to 2,000 euros more expensive in 2017, then the body of evidence begins to fill.
A reaction to this is that it's all to do with the UK's peculiar circumstances. Such a reaction is, however, conditioned by having a one-eyed view that it is the UK market which matters and no other. There are other markets. In June, the German media were pointing to higher prices for "Mallorca-Urlaub" in 2017.
So what's going on? It's pretty simple. There's a perfect storm driving prices up. Hoteliers upping prices. Tour operators falling over backwards to pay these prices in order to gobble up all available hotel space. (These tour operators do not, incidentally, include Spanish ones who are being totally outgunned and are struggling to find space.) These are the same tour operators which have taken hits this year not because of Mallorca or Spain but because of the well-publicised troubles elsewhere.
We've known about the hoteliers' price rises for several months. Depending on the chain or indeed the hotel, there are average increases of 15%. These rises, the hoteliers will and do argue, are the result of all their investment and hard work in renovation and upping the quality. Consequently, they can talk confidently of improved "price-quality" ratios for the punters. They can talk, but the punters don't automatically see it the same way. The tourist satisfaction survey by Gadeso in the summer indicated that this ratio has not improved. Punters are themselves being conditioned by quality expectations. Some have experienced them first hand in rival destinations. Quality of a similar or higher level and at a lower price. There's your price-quality ratio.
Until the bonanza of the past couple of years, served on a plate by the "troubles" of others, the hoteliers had been moaning about a decade or more of profits having barely increased. They had been running to stand still, such were the economics of the Mallorcan tourism market. Finally, a window opened, and up went the prices. And they are continuing to rise. In some instances by substantial amounts.
There are then hoteliers who insist that the elevated prices are the work of the tour operators. Maybe, but when the hoteliers have negotiated higher prices, what are the tour operators expected to do? Put the price down? It is troubling, though, to learn that major tour operators have been holding back on paying hoteliers' invoices this summer. The only reason that can be offered is the knock-on negative effect on tour operator business from cancellations to the troubled regions. Has Mallorca, therefore, been eyed up as one of the destinations where losses this year can be recouped next year?
One of the great ironies of all this, and again one can find evidence of this on social networks, is that punters, rather than abandoning Mallorca for other shores, are opting for a change. Which means private rentals. So, the hotels put their prices up and drive the client base into the hands of the enemy and into the devil's work that is Airbnb. A crunch may come, where the punter is concerned, when the enemy seeks to profiteer and ups its prices by a few hundred euros.
A further irony may just be that the hoteliers end up doing the regional government's work for them. The government sees price engineering (the tourist tax) as a means of keeping a lid on tourist numbers. The hoteliers are thus, if they're not careful, engaging in the same tactic. There will always be a further argument, one with some justification, that other destinations don't have the capacity that Mallorca has. Another argument is that the holiday is a "necessity". Price matters only so much. Capacity or price, eventually something has to give.
While the UK market does indeed have its peculiarities, so also do other markets. If one ever delves into those tourist spending stats, what one finds is the way in which spending varies significantly across markets. It's not because the Swedes, Norwegians (or even more so, the Russians) are handing out more folding notes in the island's bars and restaurants, it's because the average cost of the actual holidays is way higher than a British holiday: it can range from 25% to 50% more. And none of these other markets will be immune from the scramble for hotel places and the consequent increases.
Celesti Alomar, the tourism minister responsible for the first ecotax, said of that tax that it was a means of Mallorca not engaging in a price war with cheap destinations. Quality was all, and that meant higher prices. He seems to finally be getting his wish.
A reaction to this is that it's all to do with the UK's peculiar circumstances. Such a reaction is, however, conditioned by having a one-eyed view that it is the UK market which matters and no other. There are other markets. In June, the German media were pointing to higher prices for "Mallorca-Urlaub" in 2017.
So what's going on? It's pretty simple. There's a perfect storm driving prices up. Hoteliers upping prices. Tour operators falling over backwards to pay these prices in order to gobble up all available hotel space. (These tour operators do not, incidentally, include Spanish ones who are being totally outgunned and are struggling to find space.) These are the same tour operators which have taken hits this year not because of Mallorca or Spain but because of the well-publicised troubles elsewhere.
We've known about the hoteliers' price rises for several months. Depending on the chain or indeed the hotel, there are average increases of 15%. These rises, the hoteliers will and do argue, are the result of all their investment and hard work in renovation and upping the quality. Consequently, they can talk confidently of improved "price-quality" ratios for the punters. They can talk, but the punters don't automatically see it the same way. The tourist satisfaction survey by Gadeso in the summer indicated that this ratio has not improved. Punters are themselves being conditioned by quality expectations. Some have experienced them first hand in rival destinations. Quality of a similar or higher level and at a lower price. There's your price-quality ratio.
Until the bonanza of the past couple of years, served on a plate by the "troubles" of others, the hoteliers had been moaning about a decade or more of profits having barely increased. They had been running to stand still, such were the economics of the Mallorcan tourism market. Finally, a window opened, and up went the prices. And they are continuing to rise. In some instances by substantial amounts.
There are then hoteliers who insist that the elevated prices are the work of the tour operators. Maybe, but when the hoteliers have negotiated higher prices, what are the tour operators expected to do? Put the price down? It is troubling, though, to learn that major tour operators have been holding back on paying hoteliers' invoices this summer. The only reason that can be offered is the knock-on negative effect on tour operator business from cancellations to the troubled regions. Has Mallorca, therefore, been eyed up as one of the destinations where losses this year can be recouped next year?
One of the great ironies of all this, and again one can find evidence of this on social networks, is that punters, rather than abandoning Mallorca for other shores, are opting for a change. Which means private rentals. So, the hotels put their prices up and drive the client base into the hands of the enemy and into the devil's work that is Airbnb. A crunch may come, where the punter is concerned, when the enemy seeks to profiteer and ups its prices by a few hundred euros.
A further irony may just be that the hoteliers end up doing the regional government's work for them. The government sees price engineering (the tourist tax) as a means of keeping a lid on tourist numbers. The hoteliers are thus, if they're not careful, engaging in the same tactic. There will always be a further argument, one with some justification, that other destinations don't have the capacity that Mallorca has. Another argument is that the holiday is a "necessity". Price matters only so much. Capacity or price, eventually something has to give.
While the UK market does indeed have its peculiarities, so also do other markets. If one ever delves into those tourist spending stats, what one finds is the way in which spending varies significantly across markets. It's not because the Swedes, Norwegians (or even more so, the Russians) are handing out more folding notes in the island's bars and restaurants, it's because the average cost of the actual holidays is way higher than a British holiday: it can range from 25% to 50% more. And none of these other markets will be immune from the scramble for hotel places and the consequent increases.
Celesti Alomar, the tourism minister responsible for the first ecotax, said of that tax that it was a means of Mallorca not engaging in a price war with cheap destinations. Quality was all, and that meant higher prices. He seems to finally be getting his wish.
Tuesday, October 04, 2016
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 4 October 2016
Morning high (6.50am): 17.7C
Forecast high: 26C; UV: 5
Three-day forecast: 5 October - Sun, cloud, 246C; 6 October - Cloud, 25C; 7 October - Sun, cloud, 25C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): East 2 to 3.
Good enough day expected. Better forecast for tomorrow now, though rain still looks as if it may be on the cards for Thursday.
Evening update (20.00): High of 28.7C. Clouded over later on. Otherwise decent.
Forecast high: 26C; UV: 5
Three-day forecast: 5 October - Sun, cloud, 246C; 6 October - Cloud, 25C; 7 October - Sun, cloud, 25C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): East 2 to 3.
Good enough day expected. Better forecast for tomorrow now, though rain still looks as if it may be on the cards for Thursday.
Evening update (20.00): High of 28.7C. Clouded over later on. Otherwise decent.
Whither PSOE? Whither Armengol?
So, what now? President Armengol was one of a group of five PSOE delegates from the Balearics who were humbled along with Pedro Sánchez on Saturday. Armengol, the only regional leader to have backed Sánchez, is even more out on a limb than before. She will have been thankful for the reassuring presence among the five of former president Francesc Antich. He is to join the "management" committee that will now attempt to sort out the mess of the vote against Sánchez and his resignation. Antich is saying the same things as Armengol. The "militants", i.e. the party's grassroots, need to vote on the future. He couldn't say anything else. Nor could Armengol.
He is also saying, as indeed are others, that it isn't a foregone conclusion that there will be a PSOE abstention which allows the investiture of Mariano Rajoy. The Partido Popular has not, according to some in PSOE, done anything to make PSOE confident in abstaining or creating a most unlikely coalition. The federal committee will decide whether there is to be an abstention, and it has so far said "no" to Rajoy.
If this continues to be the case, then one wonders quite what getting rid of Sánchez will have achieved. The party may have been suffering poor results under him, but the impression was that this wasn't the sole reason for his having been given a vote of no confidence. The talk had been of the committee moving in favour of an abstention. Because of all that happened, no such debate took place, and the committee seems unlikely to reconvene until after the middle of the month.
The situation is now even more confused than it was. If there were to be a decision in favour of abstention, things would then need to move extremely quickly so that there could be an as yet hypothetical second attempt at a Rajoy investiture. The deadline is 31 October. No government by then, and the King will dissolve parliament and there will be another election. For PSOE, given its turmoil, this would be the last thing it wants. Or you would think so. There might be a hope that with a different person at the top, there will be a bounce in the polls. Equally, there could be even greater carnage. Would that mean Podemos benefiting? Possibly, but Podemos has its own division. The electorate may decide in any event to put an end to all the nonsense and turn to the PP in far greater number.
Given all this confusion, it's hard to really say how the Balearic government will be affected in the short term. On the face of things, Armengol finds herself in a weaker position than the already weak one that she was in prior to Sanchez's resignation. Everything, as far as the "pact" for her government is concerned, would seem to hinge on the abstention decision. If Rajoy is allowed in by PSOE, all bets might well be off. By having aligned herself firmly with Sánchez and against the abstention decision, Armengol will be hoping that the pact doesn't rupture.
Meanwhile, she is faced by the thorny issue of the 2017 budget. Questions have been raised, not least by the Balearic PP, about the willingness of Podemos to support it. The government is obliged to keep within deficit limits and so therefore not overspend or over borrow, but with the ongoing chaos at national level - now made even more chaotic - Podemos (and Més) might press for a deficit-busting budget, something that Armengol and her finance minister Catalina Cladera would surely not sanction: there are consequences to consider.
If Podemos were to decide to break the pact, life would obviously become even more difficult for Armengol. And then there's Més, with only one seat fewer (nine) than Podemos. PSOE with fourteen of the 59 seats would be unable to do anything, unless there was a pact with the PP. Armengol would never countenance that. Would she? The situation in Castile-La Mancha, where the PP offered support to PSOE after Podemos broke a pact of government there, hardly offers a precedent. The PP's leader in Castile-La Mancha has lamented the fact that the offer was greeted with insult and discrediting. Forget the PP coming to the aid of Armengol in the Balearics; it simply won't happen.
The possibility exists, therefore, for an almost total state of stasis taking hold with the Balearic government. But there is another scenario. Podemos might just decide that the time will have come for it to formally join the government. God knows what that might mean for ministerial positions, but if it were the best chance that Armengol has for carrying on, then who knows - maybe a Podemos finance minister.
If you thought that things were complicated before, they are about to become even more complicated.
He is also saying, as indeed are others, that it isn't a foregone conclusion that there will be a PSOE abstention which allows the investiture of Mariano Rajoy. The Partido Popular has not, according to some in PSOE, done anything to make PSOE confident in abstaining or creating a most unlikely coalition. The federal committee will decide whether there is to be an abstention, and it has so far said "no" to Rajoy.
If this continues to be the case, then one wonders quite what getting rid of Sánchez will have achieved. The party may have been suffering poor results under him, but the impression was that this wasn't the sole reason for his having been given a vote of no confidence. The talk had been of the committee moving in favour of an abstention. Because of all that happened, no such debate took place, and the committee seems unlikely to reconvene until after the middle of the month.
The situation is now even more confused than it was. If there were to be a decision in favour of abstention, things would then need to move extremely quickly so that there could be an as yet hypothetical second attempt at a Rajoy investiture. The deadline is 31 October. No government by then, and the King will dissolve parliament and there will be another election. For PSOE, given its turmoil, this would be the last thing it wants. Or you would think so. There might be a hope that with a different person at the top, there will be a bounce in the polls. Equally, there could be even greater carnage. Would that mean Podemos benefiting? Possibly, but Podemos has its own division. The electorate may decide in any event to put an end to all the nonsense and turn to the PP in far greater number.
Given all this confusion, it's hard to really say how the Balearic government will be affected in the short term. On the face of things, Armengol finds herself in a weaker position than the already weak one that she was in prior to Sanchez's resignation. Everything, as far as the "pact" for her government is concerned, would seem to hinge on the abstention decision. If Rajoy is allowed in by PSOE, all bets might well be off. By having aligned herself firmly with Sánchez and against the abstention decision, Armengol will be hoping that the pact doesn't rupture.
Meanwhile, she is faced by the thorny issue of the 2017 budget. Questions have been raised, not least by the Balearic PP, about the willingness of Podemos to support it. The government is obliged to keep within deficit limits and so therefore not overspend or over borrow, but with the ongoing chaos at national level - now made even more chaotic - Podemos (and Més) might press for a deficit-busting budget, something that Armengol and her finance minister Catalina Cladera would surely not sanction: there are consequences to consider.
If Podemos were to decide to break the pact, life would obviously become even more difficult for Armengol. And then there's Més, with only one seat fewer (nine) than Podemos. PSOE with fourteen of the 59 seats would be unable to do anything, unless there was a pact with the PP. Armengol would never countenance that. Would she? The situation in Castile-La Mancha, where the PP offered support to PSOE after Podemos broke a pact of government there, hardly offers a precedent. The PP's leader in Castile-La Mancha has lamented the fact that the offer was greeted with insult and discrediting. Forget the PP coming to the aid of Armengol in the Balearics; it simply won't happen.
The possibility exists, therefore, for an almost total state of stasis taking hold with the Balearic government. But there is another scenario. Podemos might just decide that the time will have come for it to formally join the government. God knows what that might mean for ministerial positions, but if it were the best chance that Armengol has for carrying on, then who knows - maybe a Podemos finance minister.
If you thought that things were complicated before, they are about to become even more complicated.
Monday, October 03, 2016
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 3 October 2016
Morning high (7.45am): 17.7C
Forecast high: 26C; UV: 5
Three-day forecast: 4 October - Sun, cloud, 26C; 5 October - Cloud, 25C; 6 October - Cloud, 24C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): East-Southeast 2 to 3, occasionally 4 in the afternoon.
All set for today it seems and for tomorrow, but cloudy conditions due on Wednesday with rain likely on Thursday.
Evening update (19.30): Pretty warm. High of 28.3C.
Forecast high: 26C; UV: 5
Three-day forecast: 4 October - Sun, cloud, 26C; 5 October - Cloud, 25C; 6 October - Cloud, 24C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): East-Southeast 2 to 3, occasionally 4 in the afternoon.
All set for today it seems and for tomorrow, but cloudy conditions due on Wednesday with rain likely on Thursday.
Evening update (19.30): Pretty warm. High of 28.3C.
The Revival Of The "Excursion"
There's a short film that those good people from Fotos Antiguas de Mallorca have loaded onto YouTube and which shows an excursion from Palma to Soller on the train. The date says 1930, though there is a short bit which shows a steam train. The electrification of the line was from 1929. There is a further short bit which says Ferrocarril Alaro, so maybe that was a separate excursion.
Be the trains as they may be, the film - black and white - is typically evocative of times past. By the looks of the trees the excursion would have been in winter or early spring, though had it been in summer one doubts if the dress would have differed greatly. Going on an outing in those days required attire, as one can see from other images of the era, to include a cap, a bow tie and a suit, which of course was just the men.
The excursion probably wouldn't have occurred in summer, however. Too hot. While the film shows people sitting or ambling around, it also features a spot of rambling and hiking. A somewhat bizarre aspect of this is that people - parents and children - are doing some clambering clad in their Sunday best (and it may well have been a Sunday).
It is just possible that there were "foreigners" among those on the Soller train. By the time of the film, "excursions" were an important aspect of early Mallorcan tourism. The word "excursionista" when translated - excursionist - sounds somewhat odd. It isn't a word that is greatly used, the preference perhaps being for a day-tripper or tourist. But neither of these words capture the essence of "excursionista". While it can be used more broadly, that real essence is one of an excursion into nature - rambling, hiking, enjoying the open air.
We were informed recently that there are some 300,000 hikers who come to Mallorca in the low season. It's a figure that I personally find hard to believe, but then other tourist statistics can seem somewhat fanciful as well. Whatever the real number is, there are - shall we say - a lot of people who come to hike and ramble. And for the tourism authorities - regional government and especially the Council of Mallorca - this open-air excursionism is virtuous tourism: respectful of nature and environment, or at least one hopes that it is.
A curious aspect of this seemingly recent promotion of hiking is that it is absolutely nothing new. This is why those trippers in 1930 - citizens of Palma, added to by one or two from Bunyola - may have been sharing the carriages with the odd foreigner.
The Fomento del Turismo, the Mallorca Tourist Board, was founded in 1905. Under the first article of its constitution, there are five particular objectives: things to be developed and promoted. "Fomento" means both development and promotion. The fourth of these states that it will facilitate in a practical way all types of excursions by ways (roads, tracks) and "hiking trails". There will be signs to indicate ways. There will be guides and there will be accommodation (hostels).
At the time of its founding, the Fomento recognised the essential need to improve Mallorca's transport infrastructure. A reason why was in order to indeed facilitate the fourth item on its agenda. What was to follow in terms of roads, railways, tunnels was driven in no small part by a need to develop tourism.
By 1908, two commissions - one for "improvements and excursions", the other for "information and publicity" - had produced a short guide to "excursions from Palma to the island's interior". These were excursions yet to benefit from the Soller train. In that same year, a specific group was established - Grup Excursionista Lo Fèmur. The translation isn't too difficult: the femur, the longest of bones, was necessary for this excursionist activity, i.e. walking.
So here is evidence that Mallorca's tourism was from the very beginning intimately tied to hiking and walking. The mountains were obviously a key aspect, though not exclusively, and over time - up to the start of the Civil War - the excursion broadened its appeal. It ceased to solely be for walking. It was a cultural trip usually involving a bus to key "attractions" on the island, such as Formentor and the Caves of Drach.
Although hiking has remained a constant since those early days, it is only recently that one senses a real determination to recapture the essence of the excursion that had been identified in 1905. The Fomento's wish for signage, such as now for the dry-stone route, has been a long time in really becoming complete.
The Council of Mallorca is very committed to this type of tourism, but it is one that always been there. It's as though we have gone full circle.
Sunday, October 02, 2016
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 2 October 2016
Morning high (7.40am): 17.2C
Forecast high: 27C; UV: 5
Three-day forecast: 3 October - Sun, cloud, 26C; 4 October - Sun, cloud, 26C; 5 October - Sun, cloud, 24C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): East 2 to 3.
Looks ok for today. Nothing untoward forecast. The week ahead seems mostly reasonable; Thursday might see some rain, but that could well change.
Evening update (20.30): Decent. High of 29.6C.
Forecast high: 27C; UV: 5
Three-day forecast: 3 October - Sun, cloud, 26C; 4 October - Sun, cloud, 26C; 5 October - Sun, cloud, 24C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): East 2 to 3.
Looks ok for today. Nothing untoward forecast. The week ahead seems mostly reasonable; Thursday might see some rain, but that could well change.
Evening update (20.30): Decent. High of 29.6C.
The Party That Was Taken Over
Spain knows a thing or two about the coup d'État. The country knows it as a "golpe de Estado". It knows about failed ones, too. 1981 was the famous one. That of 1982 was less famous. They swept it under the carpet. The failure had occurred on the eve of the general election. It was designed to prevent a socialist government coming to power. Everyone knew that Felipe González would win. Some were determined that he wouldn't.
González duly won the election. He was president (prime minister) for fourteen years. For the most part, these were the glory years for PSOE. They were the glory years for all of Spain's post-1975 democracy. A charismatic leader gave the country hope and pride. It clambered aboard the European gravy train; largesse flowed south in shoring up this nascent, socialist-led democracy - a country undergoing a renaissance.
It ended, as it tends to, in scandal and acrimony. The Partido Popular came to power. When it failed to win in 2004 - a result widely attributed to its mishandling of the Madrid bombs - in came Mister Bean: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. Everyone, including himself, was surprised. ZP, a decent, honourable man in a John Major-ineffectual sort of way, was no González, and he was to have his Jim Callaghan moment. Crisis, what crisis. The PSOE government poured money it didn't have into building its way out of the crash. This just made the eventual wreckage worse. ZP departed, to be replaced by Mr. Greybeard, Uncle Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba. He never stood a chance. The Rajoy era was to begin.
This background is important in understanding what has been happening over the past few days. Susana Díaz, the Andalusian president, is said to have launched a coup d'État, one designed to bring down Pedro Sánchez. There are different reasons for her having done so, of which her own ambition is just one. The crisis that has engulfed PSOE is attributed to two key factors - its disastrous election results while under Sánchez's watch and its stance over a future government. There are others.
PSOE has never recaptured the glory years. It remains a hostage to the González era. He was the party's figurehead, the national figurehead. It was PSOE who really effected the "transition" in Spain. A coup attempt could not derail that movement. It was a party of its time, but scandal, complacency and uninspiring leadership were to make it a party identified with a corrupt two-party system. The "casta" of PSOE and the PP was all that Podemos really needed. Enter, therefore, the charismatic Pablo Iglesias.
PSOE's polling has been massively affected by the emergence of Podemos and Ciudadanos. The same can be said of the PP, but the PP has remained comparatively strong where PSOE has been enfeebled. But there has been a more fundamental dynamic. PSOE has become a party directed by another - Podemos. Not directly, but its whole thinking is now determined by the factions who are for or against Podemos. It has been taken over by an outside influence. It has become a shell of a party in which even the pro-Podemos faction is uncertain. Sánchez is one of them.
He has vacillated greatly. But at the heart of his latest apparent shift - one in a Podemos direction - is the accusation that enabling the PP to govern would be evidence of the perpetuation of the "casta". He's damned if he does and damned if he doesn't, because this is where PSOE has ended up: a party no longer in control of its destiny and suffering the collateral damage of ebbing electoral support.
Sánchez threw down the gauntlet last week. There would be "primaries", ostensibly to determine who will lead the party into a third election but manifestly a vote of confidence (or not). Moreover, were Sánchez to carry the day, the quirks of the system might enable him to magic up a pact that would not require an election. The cut-off point, when the King dissolves parliament, is the end of this month. Prime Minister Sánchez might step forward, Pablo Iglesias with his hands on the strings and God alone knows whatever other parties coming along for the ride.
The gauntlet thrown, and executive committee members resigned en masse, their support for him gone. Díaz declared her coup. "Barons" in the party lined up against Sánchez, and the party's past - that hostage - caught up with Sánchez. Felipe González, still exercising great influence, declared that he had been "fooled" by Sánchez. The knife was being twisted and it was being turned in the direction of the "casta".
In the end, it wasn't a vote to abstain to allow Rajoy's investiture that did it. There was to be a show of hands on the holding of a congress, in effect a vote of confidence in Sánchez. He lost. He walked. Whichever way it had gone, Podemos would have succeeded. The party founded by one Pablo Iglesias had been infiltrated by another Pablo Iglesias. Its future has been determined not by it but by an outside force: it was Iglesias who launched the coup. Whether it has a future will be seen. The past week was monumental in deciding its fate.
González duly won the election. He was president (prime minister) for fourteen years. For the most part, these were the glory years for PSOE. They were the glory years for all of Spain's post-1975 democracy. A charismatic leader gave the country hope and pride. It clambered aboard the European gravy train; largesse flowed south in shoring up this nascent, socialist-led democracy - a country undergoing a renaissance.
It ended, as it tends to, in scandal and acrimony. The Partido Popular came to power. When it failed to win in 2004 - a result widely attributed to its mishandling of the Madrid bombs - in came Mister Bean: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. Everyone, including himself, was surprised. ZP, a decent, honourable man in a John Major-ineffectual sort of way, was no González, and he was to have his Jim Callaghan moment. Crisis, what crisis. The PSOE government poured money it didn't have into building its way out of the crash. This just made the eventual wreckage worse. ZP departed, to be replaced by Mr. Greybeard, Uncle Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba. He never stood a chance. The Rajoy era was to begin.
This background is important in understanding what has been happening over the past few days. Susana Díaz, the Andalusian president, is said to have launched a coup d'État, one designed to bring down Pedro Sánchez. There are different reasons for her having done so, of which her own ambition is just one. The crisis that has engulfed PSOE is attributed to two key factors - its disastrous election results while under Sánchez's watch and its stance over a future government. There are others.
PSOE has never recaptured the glory years. It remains a hostage to the González era. He was the party's figurehead, the national figurehead. It was PSOE who really effected the "transition" in Spain. A coup attempt could not derail that movement. It was a party of its time, but scandal, complacency and uninspiring leadership were to make it a party identified with a corrupt two-party system. The "casta" of PSOE and the PP was all that Podemos really needed. Enter, therefore, the charismatic Pablo Iglesias.
PSOE's polling has been massively affected by the emergence of Podemos and Ciudadanos. The same can be said of the PP, but the PP has remained comparatively strong where PSOE has been enfeebled. But there has been a more fundamental dynamic. PSOE has become a party directed by another - Podemos. Not directly, but its whole thinking is now determined by the factions who are for or against Podemos. It has been taken over by an outside influence. It has become a shell of a party in which even the pro-Podemos faction is uncertain. Sánchez is one of them.
He has vacillated greatly. But at the heart of his latest apparent shift - one in a Podemos direction - is the accusation that enabling the PP to govern would be evidence of the perpetuation of the "casta". He's damned if he does and damned if he doesn't, because this is where PSOE has ended up: a party no longer in control of its destiny and suffering the collateral damage of ebbing electoral support.
Sánchez threw down the gauntlet last week. There would be "primaries", ostensibly to determine who will lead the party into a third election but manifestly a vote of confidence (or not). Moreover, were Sánchez to carry the day, the quirks of the system might enable him to magic up a pact that would not require an election. The cut-off point, when the King dissolves parliament, is the end of this month. Prime Minister Sánchez might step forward, Pablo Iglesias with his hands on the strings and God alone knows whatever other parties coming along for the ride.
The gauntlet thrown, and executive committee members resigned en masse, their support for him gone. Díaz declared her coup. "Barons" in the party lined up against Sánchez, and the party's past - that hostage - caught up with Sánchez. Felipe González, still exercising great influence, declared that he had been "fooled" by Sánchez. The knife was being twisted and it was being turned in the direction of the "casta".
In the end, it wasn't a vote to abstain to allow Rajoy's investiture that did it. There was to be a show of hands on the holding of a congress, in effect a vote of confidence in Sánchez. He lost. He walked. Whichever way it had gone, Podemos would have succeeded. The party founded by one Pablo Iglesias had been infiltrated by another Pablo Iglesias. Its future has been determined not by it but by an outside force: it was Iglesias who launched the coup. Whether it has a future will be seen. The past week was monumental in deciding its fate.
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