Nora's Batty Appointment

Let's face it, there's never a dull moment at Pollensa town hall. It is though it exists primarily for entertainment and all-round amusement purposes rather than as an instrument of local democracy. Much though we might all have thought that the passing of Joan Cerdà as mayor would have created a situation of relative normality, we were quite clearly wrong. It is hard to know if Pollensa really is as mad as it seems or if it is only because we are aware of the nuttiness thanks to the opposition parties trying to outdo each other in bringing the nuttiness to everyone's attention. But long may they continue to do so, especially when they throw up the batty case of Nora, the missing sixth element of the Partido Popular in the town hall's admin.

Nora Tugores, full name Nora Tugores Cifre (aka Encrypt), was number six on the list of candidates for the PP at the last local election. Five councillors were voted in and as Nora was sixth, she found herself without a job. (You do to truly understand what this means have to have some knowledge of how proportional representation operates in a Mallorcan style, but I'm not about to go into all of that. Just accept the fact that she was sixth on the list.)

Nora has, however, found herself a job. Or rather, the mayor Tomeu Cifre (aka Encrypt) has given her one; unless he has to take it away from her, which he may well have to on account of the furore the appointment has caused. The mayor reckons that the full-time mayoral secretary, a town hall employee, has too much work to do and so another secretary is needed. Come on down therefore, Nora Tugores Encrypt.

The opposition parties are as one in being totally scandalised by the appointment and have been threatening to make Facebook explode under the weight of their indignation. Apart from the fact that there already is a secretary (albeit she is a bit pushed), there is the small matter of the fact that because Nora was sixth on the list, the appointment smacks of creating another councillor (an unelected one at that). This is the drift of the argument against Nora being given a job, though as she would only be performing secretarial duties one assumes, it is stretching outrage to suggest that she will be acting like a councillor. Nevertheless, the opposition parties do have a legitimate complaint, if for no other reason than that the appointment is an unashamed example of "amiguismo".

The opposition had called on the leader of the La Lliga party that is in coalition with the PP to voice her disquiet with the appointment as well. This she has now done, having gone on to Radio Pollença (paid for by the town hall of course) and voiced it. In so doing she has not only proved that there is some point to Radio Pollença, rather than just being there for Luther Vandross records to be played on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, she has also made the situation for the mayor very much more difficult. The Alternativa, for one, is hinting that the mayor may be subject to a motion of censure. And if this were to be passed, he might well have to go.

You do have to wonder at the failure of politicians to appreciate that certain appointments might be seen as falling slightly short of the wholly appropriate. And so you therefore wonder why they ever make them. There was the case not so long ago of the tourism minister Carlos Delgado giving a job in the ministry to his girlfriend. The outcry, notwithstanding the fact that she may have been eminently suited to the post (Delgado's defence), led to the job being swiftly taken away from her. The mayor is surely going to have follow Delgado's example. The appointment isn't just batty, it is downright stupid.

Mallorca (and Spain) struggle with the incestuousness of amiguismo and nepotism. It is one of the worst traits of the political (and business) system that friends, relatives or lovers can get jobs when others can't. There is also a struggle with transparency and fairness. Mayor Cifre, who is a vast improvement on Cerdà and of whom there were high hopes, has, I'm afraid, disappointed a lot of people with this appointment. He must revoke it.

Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.