Our Only Goal Will Be The Western Shore

British politics may be about to cross the Rubicon of taboo by debating, sensibly, the issue of immigration. The Labour MP Frank Field has an idea for caps for non-EU immigrants. For years, ever since Enoch Powell and his "rivers of blood", immigration has been the subject that barely dares speak its name in politics, save for the extremist views of the far right. This reticence to position immigration at the centre of the political dialectic has helped to spawn the xenophobia of the BNP, which has been only too willing to address the issue through its one-eyed perspective. But now, this may be about to change; one trusts that reason and nuance will prevail, rather than hysteria and myopia.

In Spain, there has been more openness on the subject, even if to raise it can result in accusations of racism. Just this happened to the failed Partido Popular presidential candidate Mariano Rajoy who, moreover, was accused of hypocrisy in suggesting limits when it had been his party that had encouraged immigration. And now? The socialist government of Spain is to impose a freeze on non-EU immigration where it affects jobs that could otherwise be done by Spaniards (or indeed, one presumes, those from the EU). Economics can change political rhetoric and posture, for the economic situation and unemployment are behind this move.

The Spanish immigration drive was founded on the need to augment the labour force. Construction was booming and workers were required. Over the course of a decade, the immigration population of the country grew by 800%. Now the boom has led to bust and the immigrant workers are superfluous. The Spanish government is offering incentives for these workers to leave - up to around 18,000 euros worth of incentive, so long as they don't come back within three years. The vast immigrant workforce has served Spain well, and it has not been that expensive - 1,200 euros per month for construction labourers - while it has been a net contributor to the social security system. Until now.

Eastern European, African and Caribbean workers may have been a temporary and opportunistic group of "guest workers" that the Spanish government was only too happy to embrace, but there is a wider dimension to the immigration debate, which is that of population. Recent predictions from Brussels indicate that, by the middle of the century, not only will Britain's population have increased substantially so too will Spain's. There was a map that showed densities of future population. In the case of Mallorca, the island was one single, unbroken blob; high density, in other words.

A government's management is similar to a company's in that it is a case of managing resources. When the company hits bad times, it lays workers off. Spain Inc. is doing the same, while also making the qualification for employment tougher. Discrimination it may be, but Spain is doing no more than many other countries. Try getting into Australia, for example. Population growth is another aspect of resource management. There are clear benefits from immigration, but there are also downsides, not least in terms of housing and urban crowding.

Immigration is regularly pinpointed as a top concern among the local population in Mallorca. The argument that immigrants take jobs away is largely spurious, but there are other facets, such as the alteration to the way of life. There is, though, no going back on the cosmopolitanism of Mallorca, certainly not while EU mobility laws apply. Besides which, the change to that way of life began the moment that mass tourism took off, together with the immigration and land ownership that occurred even before the liberalisation of movement. But the management of immigration from the point of view of living accommodation and its support elements, e.g. schools, hospitals etc., at some point becomes critical. As a foreigner in a not so large part of a foreign land, I am not unaware of that fact. However, the question is what would constitute a critical point. 2 million, a doubling of the current population of Mallorca? Less? More? Does anyone really know?


TIME SHARE - TIME OUT
September is here and the scratch-cardists of time share, sorry holiday clubs, have called time for the season and pissed off back to Gran Canaria. That's the good news. It seems a little odd to close down in Alcúdia and Pollensa whilst the richer pickings of September are circulating, but maybe there are even more to be suckered in in Maspalomas. The less good news is that they'll be back. One bar-owner tells me his gaff may be their new morning meeting-place from next season. Nice additional work if you can get it maybe. I hadn't realised how many of them there are. Enough to fill a smallish terrace, that's for sure.


QUIZ
Yesterday's title - "Don't Give Up", Peter Gabriel/Kate Bush (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kl1rRxG251s). Today's title - where does this come from? Immigration!!

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