Unhappy Together?: Mallorca's left

Biel Barceló is a name with which you should familiarise yourselves if you haven't already. He is secretary-general of the PSM, the Mallorcan socialist party which supports Mallorcan nationalism. He is the parliamentary spokesperson for Més, a grouping of the PSM, Entesa (basically the same thing as the PSM, but formed when there was a split in PSM ranks), the Iniciativa Verds (greens) and the ERC (Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya - Catalonian republican left).

Més is a relatively new grouping in that rather than being a coalition of different components it became a "single political project" in October last year under the leadership of Barceló. He is thus the strong man of the Balearics left-wing, the firmly left-wing as opposed to the qualified leftism of PSOE. He has been on the scene for a number of years. He knows his way around. He is the Més candidate to be president of the Balearics in 2015.

Barceló has spoken of the possibility of there being a government which is truly of the left for the first time in the Balearics. While PSOE has headed two coalition administrations, these were ones in which the old Unió Mallorquina (not left-wing) featured. The UM is now dead but partially resuscitated by a struggling regionalist-nationalist merger that is El Pi. Centrist Mallorcan nationalism, represented by El Pi, may be inconsequential at the spring elections next year. Barceló is thus correct in believing that there could well be a government only of the left.

He made his remarks at a public meeting with Laura Camargo, who is a leading member of Podemos in Mallorca. Camargo noted that though there had been talk of a "possible flirtation" between Més and Podemos, "no romance was envisaged at the moment". She was referring to the possibility that Podemos might join some grand pact of the left rather than go it alone at the regional elections. If there were to be such an amalgamation, then it is conceivable that it might just secure the highest percentage of the vote and so head a new government.

Even if there isn't such a pre-election pact, Podemos would surely form part of a left-wing coalition in government, headed by PSOE. In the absence of a grand pact between Més and Podemos, PSOE would certainly achieve a higher percentage of the vote and so be number one in government, with Francina Armengol as president. But whichever way it might play out, you have the ingredients for mightily difficult government.

Just consider Més for a moment. One of its components, Entesa, was born out of an ideological division within the PSM in 2006. It has since come back into the fold. A further component is the ERC. It was not part of the original "single political project" formed last year. Its inclusion within Més was approved in May this year. But now an almighty row has broken out because the ERC president, Joan Lladó, only managed to make eleventh position on the list of Més candidates for the regional parliament; the list headed by Barceló.

The ERC has called foul, to which Barceló has responded that the voting for candidates was transparent. It was a process, therefore, through which Lladó received comparatively little support. The ERC might now walk away from Més, and Barceló seems unconcerned were this to happen; the ERC on its own, according to the latest polls, might not manage to win a single seat in parliament.

Barceló has also spoken of the need for there to be "sovereignism" within Més, by which he means one ideology. But as had previously been demonstrated with Entesa, arriving at this one ideology is not straightforward, while the ERC row has simply reinforced the difficulty. Place this inside a coalition government with Podemos and as importantly PSOE, and you begin to see how such a coalition could be riven with conflict. The current Partido Popular administration may not be all sweetness, light and harmony, but a coalition of the left could be like a bar brawl of competing factions.

There again, it might not be. It might work perfectly well, but Armengol as president would face an enormous challenge to ensure that it does, and a key challenge she would have would be in the divvying-up of responsibilities. Which party would get education, health, environment, tourism? Barceló isn't totally accurate when he says that there would be a party of the left for the first time. There was under Antich when the UM was booted out of the coalition. What happened then was that the PSM got more power, i.e. at environment, and went around reversing decisions. Antich was rarely in total command of his government anyway, bowing to demands for, for instance, the absolutism of Catalan. Barceló might believe in sovereignism, but putting it into practice is quite a different matter.

MALLORCA TODAY - Pollensa PSM member fined over Bauzá protest

The former secretary of the PSM (Mallorcan socialists) in Pollensa, Miquel Amengual, is one of those who has been fined on the instruction of the Balearic Government's delegate for actions during the protest staged against President Bauzá in the town. He has received notification of a 3,000 euro fine but rejects claims that he acted violently and says that he gave his name to police (he is charged also with not identifying himself). Meanwhile, opposition parties in the town have been swift in supporting Amengual and condemning the fine.

MALLORCA TODAY - Garcia's PSM representation in Alcúdia challenged

At a meeting of Alcúdia town hall it has been established that the town's administration is a coalition between the Partido Popular and PSM (and Iniciativa Verds). Yet, Carme Garcia had left the PSM in order to align with the PP in creating the coalition. Or had she? She argues that she was booted out of the PSM. Either way, the rest of the PSM is decidedly unhappy, as are other opposition groups and legal action against the administration is being considered.

MALLORCA TODAY - Mayoral day of decision

Today is when all the negotiations have to end and that the make-ups of town halls are agreed, along with who is going to be mayor.

Pollensa: Agreement has been reached between the Partido Popular and La Lliga. Under this, Tomeu Cifre of the PP will become mayor and will also have responsibility for urban planning. Malena Estrany of La Lliga will be a second-in-command with responsibilities for finance and culture. This agreement will still leave the coalition one short of a majority, but it hopes to draw on the support of the councillor for the Unió Mollera Pollencina which has been holding out for special responsibilities to be drawn up for a councillor for Puerto Pollensa.

Alcúdia: Controversy will spill over into today's meeting. It is likely that that the PP will now rule in minority, with Coloma Terrasa as mayor. It is unclear if Carme Garcia, now no longer with the PSM (Mallorcan socialists), will formally align with Terrasa, but she is expected to subsequently lend her vote to Terrasa. The PP needed the extra support to reach a majority of nine. However, it is possible that the Convergència and PSOE, with eight councillors between them, will spring a surprise and vote for Garcia as mayor, which would send everything into chaos. Police are to be drafted in today as there are threats of protests directed at Garcia.

Unprincipled

A double-header today. Firstly, Alcúdia and its pacts. A bit later, the tourism minister.

The other day, under the title "Carme Chameleon", I looked at the possibility of the PSM (Mallorcan socialists) forming a pact with the Partido Popular to govern Alcúdia town hall. The title was quite deliberate. Turning colours. I hadn't expected that it would happen, but, unless there is a change of heart, it is now on the cards. To use another song from the 1980s, Carme Garcia will have shed her skin and smashed a damn great sledgehammer into what pretence there is in Mallorca as to principled politics.

The spin is that she will align herself with the PP by setting aside ideological differences because the PP, which gained eight councillors (one short of the nine required), has the moral right to govern Alcúdia. There's no debating this. Twice as many councillors as the next party, almost twice as much of the vote as the next lot, the PP has to be allowed to run the town hall. There is also, unquestionably, a bit of a sisters' act going on, which, where Garcia is concerned, you can understand. The alternative for her would be to align with the mates of the Convergència and PSOE, which might pose problems for her, and them.

However, there is also ambition. Garcia is likely to end up as the right-hand woman of the PP's Coloma Terrasa, whether Terrasa really wants her or not. Then there is credibility. Garcia's has been shot to pieces. If she does indeed end up as a "teniente" to the new mayor, she will be treated with utter contempt. Her party, the PSM, is livid and she has been booted out of the party for arriving at a personal agreement with the PP. She has been branded as a turncoat.

The PSM is pleading with the PP to reject the agreement. PSOE is calling on José Bauzá to in effect veto it. If there were any principles, then the PP would do so and Terrasa would be left to govern with a minority, notwithstanding the difficulties this would create.

Garcia's actions are disgraceful. They are not principled. Yes, she was returned as a councillor, but it was with a small percentage of the vote. Who did this small percentage vote for? Her or the PSM? Activists within the PSM might have enjoyed the opportunity of town hall representation, but they wouldn't have enjoyed an alliance with the PP which is the complete opposite of the PSM. Nor, you would think, would PP supporters enjoy the idea of a Mallorcan socialist pulling some strings.

The proportional system can be held open to ridicule, and it is being made to look completely ridiculous in Alcúdia, while Garcia has made herself a laughing-stock.


Tourism minister
Moving onto the never-ending saga as to who might end up as the new tourism minister, the possibility of a so-called "professional" taking the reins at the ministry keeps on popping up.

It would appear that certain professionals have indeed been canvassed as to their willingness to become tourism supremo. One of them is Alvaro Middelmann, the boss of Air Berlin in Iberia, and the former president of the Fomento del Turismo (the Mallorcan tourism board). Why on earth would Middelmann want the job? He's hugely qualified to do it, but what benefit would it bring him? It wouldn't be financial, that's for sure. And he's pretty much said as much.

It's all very well people banging on about the need for a professional to be in charge of tourism, but the problem is that professionals, if they are any good, earn a considerably larger wedge doing what they do outside of government than were they inside it.

There is also a potential problem as to perception. Middelmann, for example, is associated with one particular airline and with one particular market, the German market. Such associations could cause issues down the line, even if the perception were misplaced. Similar associations and perceptions could apply to others.

And then there is an issue of principle. What exactly is the deal with possibly appointing someone who hasn't been elected? Carlos Delgado, the bookies' favourite for the job, may be disliked, other candidates from within the PP may in fact be useless, but they have at least been elected.

Finally, if the tourism ministry is as bust as it is meant to be and if it fails to be a massive beneficiary of Bauzá benevolence, do you honestly think someone such as Middelmann, or any other highly-regarded professional, would risk their reputation when the mud starts flying about lack of promotion this, lack of promotion that? If a pro does end up at tourism, it's probably because he or she needs a job. You wouldn't want it otherwise.


Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.

Carme Chameleon: Alcúdia's coalitions

While there are many town halls whose administration, post-election, is clearcut, there are plenty where it is not. One, as mentioned previously, is Alcúdia.

The Partido Popular and its would-be mayor, Coloma Terrasa, have eight councillors, one short of a majority of nine. There are nine other councillors, split among the Convergència and PSOE (four apiece) and the PSM (Mallorcan socialists) with one.

It is the final one on this list, the PSM, which is the most interesting, as the party potentially holds the key to the future administration in the town and, if it were to prove to be so, would be evidence as to how bizarre Mallorca's politics can be. Bizarre and opportunistic.

The PSM is everything the PP is not. It is left-wing, nationalist (i.e. veering towards independence), Catalanist, and as green as a party can be without actually calling itself green. The twain of the PSM and the PP should never meet, except in darkened alleys when they encounter each other for an ideological punch-up, but the twain could yet meet in the corridors of Alcúdia town hall power.

The sole councillor that the PSM now has, Carme Garcia, is the first councillor the party has had in Alcúdia. Time to show some muscle, it would appear; time to be shown some respect. The PSM across the island has done fairly well out of the elections. Not that it fared any better at regional parliament level than it did in 2007. It has the same number of seats and its percentage of the vote went down fractionally. Yet, it can claim to now being the third force in the island.

A reason for this was the collapse of the Convergència. While it maintains pockets of resistance in town halls, such as Alcúdia, generally it has been consigned to the political dustbin, taking with it its own nationalism of the right. The PSM is now the third force and now the main voice for Mallorcan aspirations.

It is against this background that Garcia has said that she would consider an agreement with the PP whereby an alliance would create the nine councillors required. It would be the most unholy of alliances. More than this, it would be a complete sell-out of political credibility. Not of course that this stops parties combining with others when they have their eye on the main chance; think Liberal Democrats, for example. But a tie-up between the PP and the PSM would be utterly absurd.

Garcia, though she says that she would be capable of being mayor, doesn't have the brassneck to suggest that a pact with the PP would mean that she should be mayor. Thank heavens for such humility. The people of Alcúdia might have granted the PSM the opportunity of town hall representation, but there should be some context in all of this.

The PP obtained almost 40% of the vote. The Convergència and PSOE were virtually identical - in the low 20s. The PSM got just over 6% from a turnout of 55%, which is its own story as it was by far the lowest among the five largest northern municipalities. I don't know how many people this equates to, but from a population of some 19,000 and bearing in mind how many might actually be on the electoral census, an estimate might be around 300.

On any moral grounds, the PP's right to administer the town hall and Coloma Terrasa's right to be mayor should be givens. But they are not. The Convergència and PSOE formed the previous coalition. They might yet do so again, if Garcia could be persuaded. Such a scenario says much about the proportional system and much also about how local town politics are not always about political ideology. In the case of the PP and the PSM, they most certainly are, but the Convergència and PSOE are different.

Though ostensibly of the right and the left, they are chummy. This chumminess can be a virtue, and it worked well enough for most of the last administration, but it can equally be seen as being divisive, especially if it denies the PP its place in the town hall sun.

I make no bones. I don't much care for the PP, but the electoral system can be held open to ridicule. The PP deserves to be installed, but there would be no thing more ridiculous than for it to be installed with the aid of the PSM.


Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.