Watching And Waiting, Anticipating ...

The anticipation was great. Deliverance might have been hoped for but deliberation was what turned up. Balearic president Francesc Antich came, he spoke and he will have to conquer the guardians of central government's purse-strings. The much-heralded announcement on the islands' economic situation was something of a damp squib in this long, hot and difficult summer. The politicos can pack their bags for their August vacations sure in the knowledge of their own impotence.

Antich presented a 13-point plan. It was politics dressed up as economic expediency. Tax cuts for certain groups buying their first home, some adjustment of capital gains and a whole wedge of moolah for the construction industry. Little of it was new. The relief for the construction sector had already been announced; tax assistance for the young buying a house is yesterday's news. This may be welcome but it is the banks who fund house purchases not tax breaks; mortgages are as scarce as rain at present. The pumping of further cash into the economy relies on Madrid being cajoled into opening its coffers wider. That's the deliberation; the funding arrangements for the Balearics is and has been an ongoing discussion. There's more deliberation - a committee to look at how to reduce property prices and a call for cross-party participation at a time of crisis. At least Antich, unlike President Zapatero, was prepared to refer to a "crisis"; he has his head half raised out of the sand whereas Mr. Shoemaker seems to be buried in it. The only hint as to something new was a vague reference to the fact that the current problems offer the chance for a different economic model - whatever that might be.

It is easy to be critical. The fact is that regional governments, in this case the Balearics, are even more incapable of dealing with global economic difficulties than a national government. It is not really their fault except for the absence of a genuine attempt at a re-modelling of the economy that could smooth some of the harm caused by situations such as the present one. We shouldn't really have anticipated much because there was little to anticipate.


Meanwhile ... In Playa de Muro there is a fine old argument raging. This weekend sees what passes for a fiesta. It is small beer compared with the pint-sized celebrations of, for example, Pollensa's Patrona. This year there are some changes - there is not be a street party while there is to be a fair which will include samples of local cuisine. It is the nosh aspect that has caused hackles to be raised. In the "Diario" no less than Joan Torrens from Restaurant Boy is bemoaning the fact that restaurants in the playa are not among the ranks of restaurants offering samples (all three of them). I know Joan pretty well and can well imagine him in complete disgruntlement mode.

The argument goes thus: the three participating restaurants, all of them from Muro town, will be offering dishes for three euros a pop (actually the publicity brochure says two euros) and these will deprive the local restaurants of diners, while the non-street party this year will reduce the numbers flocking to Playa de Muro and spending their dosh in those local restaurants. Oh, and there is the matter of one of the three restaurants belonging to the councillor responsible for Muro's fiestas. I wouldn't fancy being him on the end of a high-volume tongue-lashing from a riled Joan, which I daresay he has been.

The town hall reckons that all will be ok as people will merely be sampling the dishes not having dinner and also says that one restaurant in the playa was approached but declined as they would have too much work on.

It is all pretty daft and gloriously representative of how daft things can be here. There again, chatting locally there is support for the playa's restaurants - they pay more than the town's restaurants and there is perhaps a sense in which the town is raining on the playa restaurants' parade. Those ten kilometres between the playa and town are more than just a physical distance; they create two entities with some mutual hostility. Anyway Muro town hall has done quite well with its publicity. The sheet over the main road announcing the "Fira nocturna" which can't actually be read when the wind blows is rather pointless but there are posters and leaflets in four different languages; nothing needlessly expensive like, say, the Puerto Pollensa Virgen del Carmen brochure, but to the point and useful. Info's on the WHAT'S ON BLOG. This does not refer, as the leaflet does, to "peasants" who "will delight us". Whatever.


QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Dolly Parton - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpKAA2VxWY8. Today's title - who? Boy band. Colour.

(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)


Index for July 2008

Airlines - 21 July 2008
All-inclusives - 19 July 2008
Bars - 11 July 2008
Balearic Government - 31 July 2008
BBC Breakfast TV - 29 July 2008
Beaches - 29 July 2008
Blogs - 14 July 2008
Books - 20 July 2008
Bullfighting - 28 July 2008
Construction industry - 27 July 2008
Eroski - 26 July 2008
Fiestas - 13 July 2008, 14 July 2008, 16 July 2008, 18 July 2008, 22 July 2008, 25 July 2008, 31 July 2008
Football - 2 July 2008, 23 July 2008
Hiking - 7 July 2008
Holiday clubs - 1 July 2008
Holiday reading - 20 July 2008
Hotels - 19 July 2008, 27 July 2008
House prices - 23 July 2008
Jazz - 18 July 2008
La Victoria - 7 July 2008
Language - 9 July 2008, 10 July 2008, 14 July 2008
Lucky-lucky men - 5 July 2008, 6 July 2008
Mallorcan companies - 27 July 2008
Mallorcan economy - 19 July 2008, 21 July 2008, 27 July 2008, 31 July 2008
Mallorcans - 4 July 2008, 10 July 2008, 23 July 2008
Names - 13 July 2008
Newspapers - 20 July 2008
Noise - 3 July 2008
Opening hours - 30 July 2008
Patrona 2008 - 13 July 2008, 22 July 2008
Playa de Muro fiesta - 31 July 2008
Police - 15 July 2008
Price controls - 11 July 2008
Property market - 21 July 2008, 23 July 2008
Public relations - 17 July 2008
Public services - 30 July 2008
Real Mallorca - 2 July 2008, 23 July 2008
Restaurants - 14 July 2008
Roundabouts - 15 July 2008
Ryanair - 21 July 2008
Sa Pobla Jazz 2008 - 18 July 2008
Santa Margalida - 14 July 2008
Scratch cards - 1 July 2008, 12 July 2008
Son Real - 24 July 2008
Sport - 29 July 2008
Supermarkets - 26 July 2008
Television - 29 July 2008
Time - 4 July 2008
Toilets, public - 12 July 2008
Tourist information - 8 July 2008, 16 July 2008, 17 July 2008
Tourist offices - 8 July 2008, 17 July 2008
Tourist sites - 24 July 2008
Verge del Carme 2008 - 16 July 2008