My Secret Garden

One of those scandals to which I referred the other day (3 October) has taken an hilarious turn; hilarious and scarcely believable. The scandal centres on payments allegedly received by various individuals in the previous Balearic Government administration in return for contracts. So get this. Buried in the garden of Antonia Ordinas, the ex-director general for economic development and one of those implicated, was the small matter of 200 grands' worth of euros. Now I wonder how that got there. Maybe the dog buried it; that'll be it. Or was this all an innovative approach to economic development? Plant the dosh and watch it grow.

I'm thinking of digging up my garden and looking to see if someone, or some dog, might have been kind enough to have secreted a similar stash. I doubt it; more likely it would reveal a decayed Trevor's body and the resultant swift dash for the first EasyJet out of Palma by a Mandy and a Beth. Just my rotten luck. Though that was the patio; and no, I'm not digging that up. A word to those who may misappropriate funds in the future - could there be a tad more democracy about it, and spread the burying around.

Democracy suffers as a consequence of such scandals, or rather the impulse to effect what becomes a scandal undermines democracy. If people in high places act in such a way, then democracy is shot; trust is a fundamental of the system. The problem is that politics here (and elsewhere, let's not get sanctimonious) is, or has been, like the Tour de France or the Olympics sprint finals; you suspect some of them are doping, but you don't know which ones. So it is, or let's hope was, in public life when it comes to illicitly gained wedges. However, this latest scandal, following on from others both at local and regional governmental levels, is not necessarily an indication of an endemically corrupt system. As I said on 3 October, the greater teeth given to the police and the greater rigour with which they are willing to root out corruption is likely to produce results - and the resultant publicity - that might at one time have been swept under the carpet or buried in the garden.

Nevertheless, the impression is that there was something rotten in the state of the Balearics during the last administration; a former minister is now alleged to have known all about the currently unfolding scandal. Invariably, this makes it a party political matter as the previous administration was controlled by the Partido Popular, while the current one is that of PSOE socialists. The PSOE might though be cautious in claiming the moral high ground when it comes to the schadenfreude of sleaze; just ask New Labour.


And so to today's adventures with the pedestrianising folk of Puerto Pollensa. Firstly, the closure between Elcano and Bot applies to both directions. Previously it was said that the route from Avenida Paris to Alcúdia would remain open. Seemingly, it isn't. Secondly, the "Diario" has unearthed some who actually think it's a good idea, quoting one lady who suggests that tourists in hotels and apartments are delighted. They may well be, but, with the exception of the Hotel Romantic and the odd apartments, the road remains open in front of all the other hotels - Uyal and Pollentia, for example. And are those in the Uyal and Pollentia not delighted? Are they clamouring for a bit of their own front-hotel pedestrianisation? No, I don't suppose they are.


QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Genesis (again). Today's title - Brit electro pop band; song from the early '80s, but they're still going.

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