Morning high (8.07am): 20C
Forecast high: 24C; UV: 9
Three-day forecast: 8 June - Sun, 25C; 9 June - Sun, cloud, 26C; 10 June - Sun, cloud, 27C
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): Northeast 3 to 4.
A warmer morning than yesterday as things settle back into a more normal pattern after Monday's storm.
Evening update (20.15): High of 25.4C.
Wednesday, June 07, 2017
Living And Dying From Tourism
Here's a stat for you. Over the past ten years the number of tourists per annum in Mallorca has risen from just shy of six million to just shy of eleven million. Not quite a 100% increase, it's still one hell of an increase.
Such an abundance of tourists should have everyone jumping for joy. But not everyone is. Some are staring at beaches of the island, at roads, at treatment plants. Their expressions are ones of pain. How has it come to this? We know how. We know why. Mediterranean geopolitics and the advance of Airbnb (and others). We know the reasons. Nevertheless, an additional five million tourists in the space of a decade, 500k more each year: this is a massive increase.
It might be thought that the increase has been more concentrated than this. Go back ten years and the world was at the point of throwing itself off financial towers. But the crash didn't create a tourism wreck. It didn't enable tourism to truly set sail with a fair wind behind it, but nor was tourism becalmed. The numbers grew and then suddenly they exploded. There was the collision of collaborative economy internet portals, the firing of a terrorist's gun, and the sound of cash tills being reactivated through recovery. For some, this caused the perfect storm. For others, it was imperfect. Storm it was, though. And with storms come damage.
Crisis begat austerity. While recovery is all around, it is easy to forget that Spain and Mallorca are still labouring in the sludgy sand of parsimony. It took a constitutional manoeuvre and an alliance of political foes - the Partido Popular and PSOE - to enshrine austerity into statute. It remains there. It is yielding slightly, but it keeps well hidden the key to the giant padlock that guards and seals the public spending treasure chest.
Town halls are at least to now be allowed to spend some of the vast surpluses they have been attaining because of the law on financial stability. But they are still subject to spending restrictions on personnel. As can be observed in Capdepera and Muro, which are not the only examples, town halls are severely restricted in terms of police recruitment and police pay. The municipal security force is only one component of the constraint.
So, coincidental with this major increase in tourist numbers has been a block on the wherewithal to deal with them. Policing, or its absence, should have us all alarmed. But the strains are clear elsewhere: cleaning, water, sewage, health service, traffic. Have public services advanced in line with the five million or so tourists advance? They have not.
Should government, Madrid in particular, shoulder the blame? Partly, it should, but then what other options did Madrid really have? But demanding that ever greater financial resources are made available obscures the real issue. The rate of growth in tourism is unsustainable. An island such as Mallorca cannot deal with it. While infrastructure can be updated, there is only so much that the general environment can absorb. It is true that no one ever places precise figures on the island's load capacities, but intuitively as well as financially, there is broad agreement that there is a finite point. And it may well have been reached.
It is no longer just the environmentalists who argue the case. Divisions of the state recognise it, even the ministry for development. While it keeps a weather eye on Aena with its ambitions for increased flights (and by and large seems prepared to permit them), it has its other duties. It is the development ministry that oversees transport in general, land in general. It can talk to the traffic directorate or to the Bank of Spain. The opinions are the same. Not sustainable.
Given this general agreement, there is a need for different branches of government (and business and environmentalists) to come together. But the regional and national governments, thanks to political differences, butt heads rather than make accords. Mallorca, hamstrung by austerity and a disadvantageous financing system, is entitled to expect something more in return for all the wealth that the additional five million is generating. But I say again, financing isn't the real issue.
The regional government, via its legislation, is seeking to spread the load of tourism. It is looking to the island's interior to take some of the strain that has been created by the increased numbers. While this can be positive for some towns, it isn't entirely. Selva is one place where the infrastructure is creaking. Buger, tiny Buger, has the highest density of tourist places on the island relative to population. It doesn't have the ability to serve them.
The oft-quoted slogan is that Mallorca lives from tourism. It does indeed. But an impression given is of an island slowly dying from its own lifeblood.
Such an abundance of tourists should have everyone jumping for joy. But not everyone is. Some are staring at beaches of the island, at roads, at treatment plants. Their expressions are ones of pain. How has it come to this? We know how. We know why. Mediterranean geopolitics and the advance of Airbnb (and others). We know the reasons. Nevertheless, an additional five million tourists in the space of a decade, 500k more each year: this is a massive increase.
It might be thought that the increase has been more concentrated than this. Go back ten years and the world was at the point of throwing itself off financial towers. But the crash didn't create a tourism wreck. It didn't enable tourism to truly set sail with a fair wind behind it, but nor was tourism becalmed. The numbers grew and then suddenly they exploded. There was the collision of collaborative economy internet portals, the firing of a terrorist's gun, and the sound of cash tills being reactivated through recovery. For some, this caused the perfect storm. For others, it was imperfect. Storm it was, though. And with storms come damage.
Crisis begat austerity. While recovery is all around, it is easy to forget that Spain and Mallorca are still labouring in the sludgy sand of parsimony. It took a constitutional manoeuvre and an alliance of political foes - the Partido Popular and PSOE - to enshrine austerity into statute. It remains there. It is yielding slightly, but it keeps well hidden the key to the giant padlock that guards and seals the public spending treasure chest.
Town halls are at least to now be allowed to spend some of the vast surpluses they have been attaining because of the law on financial stability. But they are still subject to spending restrictions on personnel. As can be observed in Capdepera and Muro, which are not the only examples, town halls are severely restricted in terms of police recruitment and police pay. The municipal security force is only one component of the constraint.
So, coincidental with this major increase in tourist numbers has been a block on the wherewithal to deal with them. Policing, or its absence, should have us all alarmed. But the strains are clear elsewhere: cleaning, water, sewage, health service, traffic. Have public services advanced in line with the five million or so tourists advance? They have not.
Should government, Madrid in particular, shoulder the blame? Partly, it should, but then what other options did Madrid really have? But demanding that ever greater financial resources are made available obscures the real issue. The rate of growth in tourism is unsustainable. An island such as Mallorca cannot deal with it. While infrastructure can be updated, there is only so much that the general environment can absorb. It is true that no one ever places precise figures on the island's load capacities, but intuitively as well as financially, there is broad agreement that there is a finite point. And it may well have been reached.
It is no longer just the environmentalists who argue the case. Divisions of the state recognise it, even the ministry for development. While it keeps a weather eye on Aena with its ambitions for increased flights (and by and large seems prepared to permit them), it has its other duties. It is the development ministry that oversees transport in general, land in general. It can talk to the traffic directorate or to the Bank of Spain. The opinions are the same. Not sustainable.
Given this general agreement, there is a need for different branches of government (and business and environmentalists) to come together. But the regional and national governments, thanks to political differences, butt heads rather than make accords. Mallorca, hamstrung by austerity and a disadvantageous financing system, is entitled to expect something more in return for all the wealth that the additional five million is generating. But I say again, financing isn't the real issue.
The regional government, via its legislation, is seeking to spread the load of tourism. It is looking to the island's interior to take some of the strain that has been created by the increased numbers. While this can be positive for some towns, it isn't entirely. Selva is one place where the infrastructure is creaking. Buger, tiny Buger, has the highest density of tourist places on the island relative to population. It doesn't have the ability to serve them.
The oft-quoted slogan is that Mallorca lives from tourism. It does indeed. But an impression given is of an island slowly dying from its own lifeblood.
Tuesday, June 06, 2017
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 6 June 2017
Morning high (7.15am): 13.6C
Forecast high: 27C; UV: 8
Three-day forecast: 7 June - Sun, cloud, 24C; 8 June - Sun, 25C; 9 June - Sun, 27C
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): West 3 to 4 veering East-Northeast in the afternoon.
Fresher morning than for some while. Clear sky. Sunny day on its way.
Evening update (21.00): High of 28.6C. Very fine day but clouded over considerably this evening. No rain forecast though.
Forecast high: 27C; UV: 8
Three-day forecast: 7 June - Sun, cloud, 24C; 8 June - Sun, 25C; 9 June - Sun, 27C
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): West 3 to 4 veering East-Northeast in the afternoon.
Fresher morning than for some while. Clear sky. Sunny day on its way.
Evening update (21.00): High of 28.6C. Very fine day but clouded over considerably this evening. No rain forecast though.
The Lawlessness Of Cala Ratjada
Three springs ago, Capdepera town hall took pleasure in informing its citizens and any others who might have cared that the beach police unit was back on the beat. It had sprung into operation, as the official season demands, on 1 May. The town hall was able to also provide information about how well the unit had performed the previous year, which was when it was established. No fewer than 804 "denuncias" for non-compliance with bylaws had been issued.
Town halls love this sort of thing. Calvia is an even better example. Take, for instance, its report last year about the number of pineapples that had been impounded en route to Paguera and Magalluf beaches. Designed to impress, it ends up sounding limp if not slightly ridiculous.
The following summer, in July 2015, the town hall was giving information about its police night patrol, which was responding to citizen complaints regarding noise, street drinking and what have you. Before this season started, i.e. early April, it was reported that both the beach and night units could disappear. Police representatives were refusing to negotiate with the mayor. There was open warfare as the police felt badly let down. Their salaries, it was said, were the worst in Mallorca. Three officers from the night unit had decided to leave. The whole of the beach patrol looked as if it was on its way out as well.
Although one can (often with justification) mock the statistics that town halls enjoy lavishing on their citizenships, the police union said that the two units had generated successful results. Yet here they were, on the point of collapse because of low morale. Projecting ahead to the staging of the highly popular mediaeval market in May, union representatives were suggesting that only minimum services could be provided. Officers were refusing to perform "extraordinary services". The situation with their conditions - hours as well as pay - was "unsustainable".
Towards the end of April came news that certain weekend shifts had no police at all. This problem was expected to be repeated because of the lack of officers and the row over conditions. The prospect was looming of there being times in the main tourism season with no police patrols. The entire force of 37 was inadequate for a population that can increase to some 50,000, most of them in Cala Ratjada.
Last week, councillors from the opposition Partido Popular walked out of the council meeting. Protesting against the "authoritarianism" of PSOE (the mayor, Rafel Fernández, is from PSOE), they said that the administration was in chaos, one aspect of this being the failure to come to agreements with the police. The mayor pointed out that there had been a meeting the previous day at which there were some agreements, but not on pay. Increasing salaries would "not conform to legality" insofar as public employee pay is restricted under the terms of the so-called Montoro Law, named after the national finance minister.
At the weekend, there were various reports about the apparent total breakdown of control on the beaches of Cala Agulla and Son Moll. They had become "Comanche territory", invaded by hundreds of young people getting drunk, swimming nude, playing high-powered sound equipment and roasting chickens. These young people are Germans.
Responses to these reports didn't blame the police. They blamed the mayor and the town hall and the tourists. And for Cala Ratjada, this was hardly the first time that there was news of drunken German tourists. It's been going on for years, especially because of the spring break-type holidays. Cala Ratjada, so opinion goes, is the Magalluf of north-east Mallorca. That opinion is not wrong.
There are different issues here. One is policing. There are concerns elsewhere in Mallorca about the lack of police to deal with the greatly increased numbers of tourists. We all know about Magalluf and Playa de Palma, which are the resorts the politicians and much of the media are only ever interested in, but there are issues in places that don't normally attract attention. Playa de Muro is one, but it doesn't have the problems that Cala Ratjada has.
These are not the fault of the police or the town hall. The blame lies squarely with tour operators who organise spring-break holidays and with the hotels who accept the guests. The total disregard for coexistence and for the capabilities of local services, especially police, is scandalous.
So what's to be done? In all likelihood, nothing. What there is of the beach unit in Cala Ratjada - there were apparently two cops about at the weekend - cannot cope. The Guardia could be sent in but the Guardia have other matters to attend to. Compliance with local bylaws is first and foremost a local police issue and not a Guardia one. But as the police aren't there ... .
Town halls love this sort of thing. Calvia is an even better example. Take, for instance, its report last year about the number of pineapples that had been impounded en route to Paguera and Magalluf beaches. Designed to impress, it ends up sounding limp if not slightly ridiculous.
The following summer, in July 2015, the town hall was giving information about its police night patrol, which was responding to citizen complaints regarding noise, street drinking and what have you. Before this season started, i.e. early April, it was reported that both the beach and night units could disappear. Police representatives were refusing to negotiate with the mayor. There was open warfare as the police felt badly let down. Their salaries, it was said, were the worst in Mallorca. Three officers from the night unit had decided to leave. The whole of the beach patrol looked as if it was on its way out as well.
Although one can (often with justification) mock the statistics that town halls enjoy lavishing on their citizenships, the police union said that the two units had generated successful results. Yet here they were, on the point of collapse because of low morale. Projecting ahead to the staging of the highly popular mediaeval market in May, union representatives were suggesting that only minimum services could be provided. Officers were refusing to perform "extraordinary services". The situation with their conditions - hours as well as pay - was "unsustainable".
Towards the end of April came news that certain weekend shifts had no police at all. This problem was expected to be repeated because of the lack of officers and the row over conditions. The prospect was looming of there being times in the main tourism season with no police patrols. The entire force of 37 was inadequate for a population that can increase to some 50,000, most of them in Cala Ratjada.
Last week, councillors from the opposition Partido Popular walked out of the council meeting. Protesting against the "authoritarianism" of PSOE (the mayor, Rafel Fernández, is from PSOE), they said that the administration was in chaos, one aspect of this being the failure to come to agreements with the police. The mayor pointed out that there had been a meeting the previous day at which there were some agreements, but not on pay. Increasing salaries would "not conform to legality" insofar as public employee pay is restricted under the terms of the so-called Montoro Law, named after the national finance minister.
At the weekend, there were various reports about the apparent total breakdown of control on the beaches of Cala Agulla and Son Moll. They had become "Comanche territory", invaded by hundreds of young people getting drunk, swimming nude, playing high-powered sound equipment and roasting chickens. These young people are Germans.
Responses to these reports didn't blame the police. They blamed the mayor and the town hall and the tourists. And for Cala Ratjada, this was hardly the first time that there was news of drunken German tourists. It's been going on for years, especially because of the spring break-type holidays. Cala Ratjada, so opinion goes, is the Magalluf of north-east Mallorca. That opinion is not wrong.
There are different issues here. One is policing. There are concerns elsewhere in Mallorca about the lack of police to deal with the greatly increased numbers of tourists. We all know about Magalluf and Playa de Palma, which are the resorts the politicians and much of the media are only ever interested in, but there are issues in places that don't normally attract attention. Playa de Muro is one, but it doesn't have the problems that Cala Ratjada has.
These are not the fault of the police or the town hall. The blame lies squarely with tour operators who organise spring-break holidays and with the hotels who accept the guests. The total disregard for coexistence and for the capabilities of local services, especially police, is scandalous.
So what's to be done? In all likelihood, nothing. What there is of the beach unit in Cala Ratjada - there were apparently two cops about at the weekend - cannot cope. The Guardia could be sent in but the Guardia have other matters to attend to. Compliance with local bylaws is first and foremost a local police issue and not a Guardia one. But as the police aren't there ... .
Monday, June 05, 2017
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 5 June 2017
Morning high (7.30am): 18.3C
Forecast high: 23C; UV: 8
Three-day forecast: 6 June - Sun, cloud, 27C; 7 June - Sun, cloud, 25C; 8 June - Sun, 26C
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): Northeast 4 to 5.
More rain possible this morning following the storms last night and overnight. Very grey and damp first thing. Improving in the afternoon. Rest of the week fine.
Evening update (19.45): Well, rain certainly was possible. Lashed down for much of the morning. Sun was out in the afternoon. High of 22.9C.
Forecast high: 23C; UV: 8
Three-day forecast: 6 June - Sun, cloud, 27C; 7 June - Sun, cloud, 25C; 8 June - Sun, 26C
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): Northeast 4 to 5.
More rain possible this morning following the storms last night and overnight. Very grey and damp first thing. Improving in the afternoon. Rest of the week fine.
Evening update (19.45): Well, rain certainly was possible. Lashed down for much of the morning. Sun was out in the afternoon. High of 22.9C.
Fairs And The Victory Of Tourism Over Industry
In the annals of the Fomento del Turismo, the Mallorca Tourist Board, there is a 1962 reference to one Bartomeu Sagrera Escalas and to his having talked about a fair. He was, from what I can make out, the delegate in the Balearics for the national trade ministry as well as having been a member of the tourist board. The fair in question was held in the autumn of that year. It was the Feria de Muestras.
The word muestra can have different meanings, but in this context it is probably most satisfactorily translated as exhibition. This fair of exhibitions was a trade fair, one designed in part to show off Mallorca's industry, such as it was. By 1962, the island's industrial base was in decline. Tourism was beginning the process that eventually killed much of it off.
Mallorca's move from a primary economy, one based almost solely on agriculture, had started to gather pace in the final quarter of the nineteenth century. The secondary economy was to bring, for example, textiles, chemicals and leather products. In the early 1950s, it is estimated that around 35% of the population worked in factories that were producing the likes of chemicals. In the following decade, the labour force changed markedly. An example of the decline in textiles can be seen in Pollensa. The ruined Can Morató factory, closed since 1960, was once a significant manufacturer and exporter of carpets. Chemicals factories closed down, while the leather trade was undermined by lack of investment.
Although tourism and the tertiary economy was the coming thing, it was recognised that Mallorca shouldn't be allowed to become dependent on a mono-economic culture. It had been when agriculture was dominant. And that had meant risks because of weather and pests. The devastation of the vineyards in the 1890s was evidence of the latter.
In the '60s, there was to be an effort, as with the creation of Spain's first industrial estate, Son Castelló in Palma, to try and ensure a diverse economy. Although the estate was to be a success, the lack of diversification is a theme one hears too often today. The Feria de Muestras was therefore another effort. But by 1974, they had given up holding a fair. Tourism had well and truly triumphed and had taken construction along with it for the ride.
The desire for economic diversity can be seen from the fact that for the second fair there was an expanded name. It was the Feria de Muestras, Artesania y Turismo. And it was to be moved to a different time of the year. Weirdly, one would suggest, it used to start in June and run for more than two weeks into early July. One says weird because summer is not generally considered to be the best time to hold such a fair.
But June it was. The banner for the 1966 fair (18 June to 3 July) shows a steel cog and what one guesses is supposed to represent an airplane. The fair was held in Palma's Sa Feixina park. In 1967, there were some 200 stands for its sixth staging. During it, there was another type of fair. Between 23 and 25 June, the fourth World Gastronomy Congress was held. There was a cocktail do at Bellver Castle, a gala dinner at the newly opened Palacio de Congresos in the Pueblo Español and a special breakfast and lunch at Pollensa's Hotel Formentor, with invites given out by the national minister for information and tourism, Manuel Fraga.
Gastronomy is nowadays looked upon as a key niche in the tourism sector. The coinciding of the gastronomy congress and the fair fifty years ago demonstrates that it was considered an aspect of tourism even back then. It certainly wasn't a complement to industry.
In 1971, the "muestras" were dropped from the title of the fair. It had become shorter, so between 19 and 29 June there was the first Feria Nacional de Artesanía y Turismo de Palma de Mallorca. Three years on, and the fair was no more. Artisan work was also in retreat. It has of course rebounded to such an extent that today no fair worth its salt doesn't have an artisan element.
Tourism no longer needed to be lumped in with other sectors. It had become the be all and end all. Where fairs or congresses were concerned, this was confirmed in 1973. More sensibly, the timing had shifted to the autumn. In November of that year, ABTA held its convention at the auditorium in Palma. DRV, the German equivalent of ABTA, was to follow. Tourism was international and it was Mallorca's industry.
The word muestra can have different meanings, but in this context it is probably most satisfactorily translated as exhibition. This fair of exhibitions was a trade fair, one designed in part to show off Mallorca's industry, such as it was. By 1962, the island's industrial base was in decline. Tourism was beginning the process that eventually killed much of it off.
Mallorca's move from a primary economy, one based almost solely on agriculture, had started to gather pace in the final quarter of the nineteenth century. The secondary economy was to bring, for example, textiles, chemicals and leather products. In the early 1950s, it is estimated that around 35% of the population worked in factories that were producing the likes of chemicals. In the following decade, the labour force changed markedly. An example of the decline in textiles can be seen in Pollensa. The ruined Can Morató factory, closed since 1960, was once a significant manufacturer and exporter of carpets. Chemicals factories closed down, while the leather trade was undermined by lack of investment.
Although tourism and the tertiary economy was the coming thing, it was recognised that Mallorca shouldn't be allowed to become dependent on a mono-economic culture. It had been when agriculture was dominant. And that had meant risks because of weather and pests. The devastation of the vineyards in the 1890s was evidence of the latter.
In the '60s, there was to be an effort, as with the creation of Spain's first industrial estate, Son Castelló in Palma, to try and ensure a diverse economy. Although the estate was to be a success, the lack of diversification is a theme one hears too often today. The Feria de Muestras was therefore another effort. But by 1974, they had given up holding a fair. Tourism had well and truly triumphed and had taken construction along with it for the ride.
The desire for economic diversity can be seen from the fact that for the second fair there was an expanded name. It was the Feria de Muestras, Artesania y Turismo. And it was to be moved to a different time of the year. Weirdly, one would suggest, it used to start in June and run for more than two weeks into early July. One says weird because summer is not generally considered to be the best time to hold such a fair.
But June it was. The banner for the 1966 fair (18 June to 3 July) shows a steel cog and what one guesses is supposed to represent an airplane. The fair was held in Palma's Sa Feixina park. In 1967, there were some 200 stands for its sixth staging. During it, there was another type of fair. Between 23 and 25 June, the fourth World Gastronomy Congress was held. There was a cocktail do at Bellver Castle, a gala dinner at the newly opened Palacio de Congresos in the Pueblo Español and a special breakfast and lunch at Pollensa's Hotel Formentor, with invites given out by the national minister for information and tourism, Manuel Fraga.
Gastronomy is nowadays looked upon as a key niche in the tourism sector. The coinciding of the gastronomy congress and the fair fifty years ago demonstrates that it was considered an aspect of tourism even back then. It certainly wasn't a complement to industry.
In 1971, the "muestras" were dropped from the title of the fair. It had become shorter, so between 19 and 29 June there was the first Feria Nacional de Artesanía y Turismo de Palma de Mallorca. Three years on, and the fair was no more. Artisan work was also in retreat. It has of course rebounded to such an extent that today no fair worth its salt doesn't have an artisan element.
Tourism no longer needed to be lumped in with other sectors. It had become the be all and end all. Where fairs or congresses were concerned, this was confirmed in 1973. More sensibly, the timing had shifted to the autumn. In November of that year, ABTA held its convention at the auditorium in Palma. DRV, the German equivalent of ABTA, was to follow. Tourism was international and it was Mallorca's industry.
Sunday, June 04, 2017
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 4 June 2017
Morning high (8.16am): 21.3C
Forecast high: 26C; UV: 8
Three-day forecast: 5 June - Rain, 23C; 6 June - Sun, cloud, 27C; 7 June - Sun, cloud, 25C
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): East-Northeast 4 to 5.
Steamy feel to the morning. Sun is out but forecast is for possible showers later and storm overnight. There are yellow alerts for both rain and storms.
Evening update (19.30): Some sunny spells but also light cloud most of the day. There are now amber alerts for rain and storm that can be expected overnight and into tomorrow. High of 26.5C.
Forecast high: 26C; UV: 8
Three-day forecast: 5 June - Rain, 23C; 6 June - Sun, cloud, 27C; 7 June - Sun, cloud, 25C
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): East-Northeast 4 to 5.
Steamy feel to the morning. Sun is out but forecast is for possible showers later and storm overnight. There are yellow alerts for both rain and storms.
Evening update (19.30): Some sunny spells but also light cloud most of the day. There are now amber alerts for rain and storm that can be expected overnight and into tomorrow. High of 26.5C.
Montse On A Sofa
Bear with me a moment, I have a story from university days. It concerns a friend who spent a good part of an entire academic year living in an office. This was the college junior common room's office (JCR, for those of you unfamiliar with such things, being the student organisation). The office was nicknamed the Witch office, after the college student magazine that ultimately folded under the weight of potential libel and obscenity charges.
When one says that this friend lived in the office, he only slept there. Facilities, such as showers, kitchen, what have you, were readily available in friends' halls of residence corridors; mine, normally. There was rarely any issue with his using the office. Security, such as it was, fell to the college porters, who would not make a habit of entering the office. Until Old Frank did. He was a dear chap with a Blackburn accent, of whom the student body was very fond, unlike another of the porters - Young Frank (though young was relative). Old Frank once stumbled into the office and very swiftly stumbled out again. He was later to be found wandering along corridors, muttering to anyone who came in earshot: " 'Ave you 'eard abaht shaggin' in t'Witch office?" By which time, we most certainly had.
The reason for the friend utilising the office was pretty simple. Money. Despite being on a full grant (there were such things then), there were greater priorities to living than paying for books or, more importantly, rent.
This anecdote serves as an introduction to what has been occurring in the Balearic parliament. The Old Franks of parliament security were alerted recently to noises on the third floor of the building. This was in the early hours of the morning. They considered calling the police but decided to investigate for themselves. The room on the third floor is the one available as a rest area for parliamentary deputies. It has, among other things, showers, a telly and sofas. The Old Franks entered and who should they find but Montse Seijas. One should point out that noises were not of the Witch office nature. Montse was there on her own, bedded down on a sofa. But naturally enough the Old Franks sought out Balti the next day. " 'Ave you 'eard abaht Montse in t' office?"
The president of parliament, the equivalent of a college bursar, thus informed the Old Franks that after eleven at night there can be no one in the parliament's offices. And there most certainly cannot be anyone sleeping in them. Called to explain herself, Montse said that she often worked late and had availed herself of parliament accommodation on four or five occasions.
Now, the thing with Montse is that is she's from Minorca (actually, she's from Galicia, but that's another matter). She was a Podemos deputy for Minorca before Podemos threw her out of the party. The Minorca connection entitles her to a 90 euros a night allowance. Given this, some people put two and two together. Or thought they did. Montse has flatly denied trousering the 90 euros and sleeping in parliament for free. She couldn't, she said, keep on imposing herself on friends, she doesn't have a car and she had been unable to find a hotel. "It's very difficult to find one in the centre of Palma," she complained.
And let's be honest, she has a point. A report last week suggesting that one can hand over up to 500 euros a night for a Palma hotel room makes the 90 euros allowance seem distinctly miserly. What could one get for 90 euros anyway? It occurs to me that she might have booked something through Airbnb, but as a good Podemos deputy, or rather ex-Podemos, that would never do (unless you're Alberto Jarabo).
Balti's command was followed to the letter. The Old Franks came across Montse on another occasion. It was half eleven. You'll have to leave, they told her. Where did she go? She hasn't said. But it could be that she was forced to blow the equivalent of several nights' allowance on one night in a Palma boutique hotel. Wherever it was she went, she has had harsh words for her one-time comrade in Podemos, Balti. His decision to ensure that she is removed from the premises by eleven o'clock is all down to an obsession that Balti and Podemos have with her.
Oh well, it was good while it lasted, one supposes. And at least Montse had a sofa. The friend at university made do with the floor.
When one says that this friend lived in the office, he only slept there. Facilities, such as showers, kitchen, what have you, were readily available in friends' halls of residence corridors; mine, normally. There was rarely any issue with his using the office. Security, such as it was, fell to the college porters, who would not make a habit of entering the office. Until Old Frank did. He was a dear chap with a Blackburn accent, of whom the student body was very fond, unlike another of the porters - Young Frank (though young was relative). Old Frank once stumbled into the office and very swiftly stumbled out again. He was later to be found wandering along corridors, muttering to anyone who came in earshot: " 'Ave you 'eard abaht shaggin' in t'Witch office?" By which time, we most certainly had.
The reason for the friend utilising the office was pretty simple. Money. Despite being on a full grant (there were such things then), there were greater priorities to living than paying for books or, more importantly, rent.
This anecdote serves as an introduction to what has been occurring in the Balearic parliament. The Old Franks of parliament security were alerted recently to noises on the third floor of the building. This was in the early hours of the morning. They considered calling the police but decided to investigate for themselves. The room on the third floor is the one available as a rest area for parliamentary deputies. It has, among other things, showers, a telly and sofas. The Old Franks entered and who should they find but Montse Seijas. One should point out that noises were not of the Witch office nature. Montse was there on her own, bedded down on a sofa. But naturally enough the Old Franks sought out Balti the next day. " 'Ave you 'eard abaht Montse in t' office?"
The president of parliament, the equivalent of a college bursar, thus informed the Old Franks that after eleven at night there can be no one in the parliament's offices. And there most certainly cannot be anyone sleeping in them. Called to explain herself, Montse said that she often worked late and had availed herself of parliament accommodation on four or five occasions.
Now, the thing with Montse is that is she's from Minorca (actually, she's from Galicia, but that's another matter). She was a Podemos deputy for Minorca before Podemos threw her out of the party. The Minorca connection entitles her to a 90 euros a night allowance. Given this, some people put two and two together. Or thought they did. Montse has flatly denied trousering the 90 euros and sleeping in parliament for free. She couldn't, she said, keep on imposing herself on friends, she doesn't have a car and she had been unable to find a hotel. "It's very difficult to find one in the centre of Palma," she complained.
And let's be honest, she has a point. A report last week suggesting that one can hand over up to 500 euros a night for a Palma hotel room makes the 90 euros allowance seem distinctly miserly. What could one get for 90 euros anyway? It occurs to me that she might have booked something through Airbnb, but as a good Podemos deputy, or rather ex-Podemos, that would never do (unless you're Alberto Jarabo).
Balti's command was followed to the letter. The Old Franks came across Montse on another occasion. It was half eleven. You'll have to leave, they told her. Where did she go? She hasn't said. But it could be that she was forced to blow the equivalent of several nights' allowance on one night in a Palma boutique hotel. Wherever it was she went, she has had harsh words for her one-time comrade in Podemos, Balti. His decision to ensure that she is removed from the premises by eleven o'clock is all down to an obsession that Balti and Podemos have with her.
Oh well, it was good while it lasted, one supposes. And at least Montse had a sofa. The friend at university made do with the floor.
Saturday, June 03, 2017
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 3 June 2017
Morning high (6.30am): 17.5C
Forecast high: 28C; UV: 9
Three-day forecast: 4 June - Cloud, sun, 26C; 5 June - Cloud, 22C; 6 June - Sun, cloud, 27C
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): Southeast 2 to 3 occasionally 4.
Warm nights starting to kick in. Warm morning. Cloudy this evening. May be showers tomorrow.
Evening update (20.20): High of 30.3C.
Forecast high: 28C; UV: 9
Three-day forecast: 4 June - Cloud, sun, 26C; 5 June - Cloud, 22C; 6 June - Sun, cloud, 27C
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): Southeast 2 to 3 occasionally 4.
Warm nights starting to kick in. Warm morning. Cloudy this evening. May be showers tomorrow.
Evening update (20.20): High of 30.3C.
Owners Beware: Holiday Rentals' Legislation
So, on Tuesday the Balearic parliament finally got round to debating the government's long-awaited holiday rentals' legislation. The debate took four hours, after which the amendments to the whole of the bill that had come from the Partido Popular and El Pi were booted out, as everyone, including the PP and El Pi, knew they would be. The legislation should be finally approved by the end of the month or early July.
The opposition parties set about Biel Barceló's bill. The PP said that the only ones who'll be happy will be the hoteliers. Álvaro Gijón observed that "for the first time in history, the hoteliers' federation and GOB (the environmentalist group) are in agreement". The legislation will, he argued, create more problems than it seeks to solve. It will be "ineffective, arbitrary and legally inconsistent".
Josep Meliá of El Pi said that the government wasn't regulating, it was "crushing" holiday rentals. The bill fails to respect municipal powers or the right of owners to offer rentals. Olga Ballester for Ciudadanos described the bill as an "absurdity" which imposes very difficult requirements for registration.
The right (and the centre-right) were thus at loggerheads with the left who were introducing the legislation. They themselves, the government parties and Podemos, haven't been in complete agreement, but the bill will go forward and, unless Podemos decide to pull the plug, it will be approved. There is more to the legislation than just the operation of holiday rentals. These other aspects will come into force immediately, the actual operation of holiday rentals' regulation will be delayed until early next year. That's because the island councils and the town halls have to decide on the zoning, which is perhaps the most important aspect of the law.
Biel Barceló assured parliament that the government does not anticipate an appeal against the legislation as there has been in the Canary Islands. Legal advice it has received suggests there will be no appeal, though he did add "in practice, we will see". The appeal in the Canaries was specifically to do with zoning, but the principle adopted in those islands wasn't the same as in the Balearics. The Canarian government had essentially wanted to zone rentals some distance away from resorts. The courts said they couldn't, so the legislation is being rethought.
In practice, the same may happen in the Balearics. It will all depend on how the zoning will ultimately be determined, but the legislation doesn't specify that zones have to be away from resorts.
There was some clarity from Barceló regarding existing licences, i.e. for standalone houses and villas. There has been a fear that zoning might mean properties being de-registered. Barceló said that licences obtained before the change in law will remain in force, though these will be subject to any new specifications in terms of standards. But if you own a house or villa that is currently legally registered for holiday rental, you should be able to breathe easily.
The legislation is of course really about apartments. Any rental property marketed via websites, which can be the likes of Airbnb or those of local estate agents, must have a registration number. At present, none do. Fines are up to 40,000 euros and they can be applied to owners and to those operating websites. The legislation will make it possible to register apartments and to market them openly and legally, but the process of registration cannot begin until the zoning has been concluded. Once it has, there will be all manner of requirements. There will, for instance, have to be individual water meters and the permission of communities of residents. Applications for registration will then have to wait for inspectors to turn up, and that can take months.
Then there is the tenancy act, the Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos and its loophole. The legislation will tighten this to the point of trying to squeeze the life out of rentals. Although state law sets no minimum on the period of a let, the Balearic legislation will treat any rental of less than a month as being for tourist purposes. What this will mean is that an apartment which is rented out for less than four weeks must have a registration number. The property cannot be advertised on Airbnb or other websites without one. As the government views these rentals to be tourist, the burden of proof will be on the owner to show that it is not for tourist purposes. On top of this, there will be the deposits to be paid.
In a nutshell, if you are currently renting an apartment to tourists, then you need to be very wary. The tenancy act defence will be very much harder to adopt than at present, though one shouldn't rule out there being a legal challenge to this aspect of the legislation (and possibly to others). It may be that in the future, once the zoning process is over, that the apartment could meet requirements for legal registration. That, though, is for the future, as also will be what might happen if there is a change of government in 2019. The PP has said that it will repeal the legislation. Given, however, that it was previously opposed to liberalising the market for apartments, any repeal and different legislation wouldn't necessarily mean a more advantageous scenario.
The opposition parties set about Biel Barceló's bill. The PP said that the only ones who'll be happy will be the hoteliers. Álvaro Gijón observed that "for the first time in history, the hoteliers' federation and GOB (the environmentalist group) are in agreement". The legislation will, he argued, create more problems than it seeks to solve. It will be "ineffective, arbitrary and legally inconsistent".
Josep Meliá of El Pi said that the government wasn't regulating, it was "crushing" holiday rentals. The bill fails to respect municipal powers or the right of owners to offer rentals. Olga Ballester for Ciudadanos described the bill as an "absurdity" which imposes very difficult requirements for registration.
The right (and the centre-right) were thus at loggerheads with the left who were introducing the legislation. They themselves, the government parties and Podemos, haven't been in complete agreement, but the bill will go forward and, unless Podemos decide to pull the plug, it will be approved. There is more to the legislation than just the operation of holiday rentals. These other aspects will come into force immediately, the actual operation of holiday rentals' regulation will be delayed until early next year. That's because the island councils and the town halls have to decide on the zoning, which is perhaps the most important aspect of the law.
Biel Barceló assured parliament that the government does not anticipate an appeal against the legislation as there has been in the Canary Islands. Legal advice it has received suggests there will be no appeal, though he did add "in practice, we will see". The appeal in the Canaries was specifically to do with zoning, but the principle adopted in those islands wasn't the same as in the Balearics. The Canarian government had essentially wanted to zone rentals some distance away from resorts. The courts said they couldn't, so the legislation is being rethought.
In practice, the same may happen in the Balearics. It will all depend on how the zoning will ultimately be determined, but the legislation doesn't specify that zones have to be away from resorts.
There was some clarity from Barceló regarding existing licences, i.e. for standalone houses and villas. There has been a fear that zoning might mean properties being de-registered. Barceló said that licences obtained before the change in law will remain in force, though these will be subject to any new specifications in terms of standards. But if you own a house or villa that is currently legally registered for holiday rental, you should be able to breathe easily.
The legislation is of course really about apartments. Any rental property marketed via websites, which can be the likes of Airbnb or those of local estate agents, must have a registration number. At present, none do. Fines are up to 40,000 euros and they can be applied to owners and to those operating websites. The legislation will make it possible to register apartments and to market them openly and legally, but the process of registration cannot begin until the zoning has been concluded. Once it has, there will be all manner of requirements. There will, for instance, have to be individual water meters and the permission of communities of residents. Applications for registration will then have to wait for inspectors to turn up, and that can take months.
Then there is the tenancy act, the Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos and its loophole. The legislation will tighten this to the point of trying to squeeze the life out of rentals. Although state law sets no minimum on the period of a let, the Balearic legislation will treat any rental of less than a month as being for tourist purposes. What this will mean is that an apartment which is rented out for less than four weeks must have a registration number. The property cannot be advertised on Airbnb or other websites without one. As the government views these rentals to be tourist, the burden of proof will be on the owner to show that it is not for tourist purposes. On top of this, there will be the deposits to be paid.
In a nutshell, if you are currently renting an apartment to tourists, then you need to be very wary. The tenancy act defence will be very much harder to adopt than at present, though one shouldn't rule out there being a legal challenge to this aspect of the legislation (and possibly to others). It may be that in the future, once the zoning process is over, that the apartment could meet requirements for legal registration. That, though, is for the future, as also will be what might happen if there is a change of government in 2019. The PP has said that it will repeal the legislation. Given, however, that it was previously opposed to liberalising the market for apartments, any repeal and different legislation wouldn't necessarily mean a more advantageous scenario.
Friday, June 02, 2017
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 2 June 2017
Morning high (7.05am): 17.5C
Forecast high: 26C; UV: 9
Three-day forecast: 3 June - Sun, 28C; 4 June - Sun, cloud, 25C; 5 June - Cloud, 24C
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): Northeast 2 to 4.
Another excellent day in store. A fine evening to eat potatoes at Sa Pobla's spud fair (and tomorrow evening).
Evening update (20.45): High of 29C.
Forecast high: 26C; UV: 9
Three-day forecast: 3 June - Sun, 28C; 4 June - Sun, cloud, 25C; 5 June - Cloud, 24C
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): Northeast 2 to 4.
Another excellent day in store. A fine evening to eat potatoes at Sa Pobla's spud fair (and tomorrow evening).
Evening update (20.45): High of 29C.
My Backyard Is Not Your Backyard
A couple of years ago, a friend of mine posted a little story on Facebook. I should point out that this friend has a stature not too dissimilar to that of a rugby prop forward. His story concerned an unfortunate tourist (young, male, British, drunk), who for some reason had clambered over the wall into his yard. This was at night. My friend, who has a wife and four children, didn't take too kindly to this intrusion. No questions were asked. The tourist had chosen the wrong yard and the wrong occupant. His photo accompanied the story. Matey boy didn't appear to be too happy. He would have been less happy when the police arrived.
The moral of the story is, of course, not to go invading people's property. Whatever his intention had been, the tourist discovered to his cost that it isn't wise to enter someone's yard without permission. Maybe he had needed to go to the toilet. Maybe so. There was obviously still no excuse.
There's another little story. Unlike the above tale, which was in Alcudia, this one concerns Magalluf. A photo with this second story shows a tourist having a leak on some garden at an apartments' building in the resort. This was not a tourist apartments' building (though these days you can never be sure), it was a residential block. Chummy in the photo is just one who has apparently been availing himself of toilet facilities at the apartments. At least he was urinating outside.
In Arenal, those in need of relief are tending to be civilised enough to use the beach, though pavements, doorways and what have you can also come in useful. The nightly peeing is the tinkling that is the accompaniment to the crescendos of noise, to the piles of abandoned bottles which are left scattered on the beach and to the cries of the nighttime drunks. Never let it be said that education has anything to do with decent behaviour. These drunks are the spring breakers, the students, in Arenal at present, from the UK and Germany. The local residents, sick to the back teeth of this in past years, sick to the back teeth of the mess, the lack of police, the lack of town hall action, have had enough. The beach and the front line may not directly be their backyard, but they live there.
These three stories point to an inherent tension and conflict in tourism. There have always been drunk tourists. There have always been loud, messy, disrespectful, poorly behaved tourists. But the greater the overall number of tourists, the greater the number of the badly behaved. Magalluf may claim to be transforming itself, but hell may well freeze over before individuals cease using someone's backyard for peeing in. The drive towards a more up-market tourist should eradicate problems, as the mayor of Calvia believes. Yet even the up-market is known to take the odd drink too many.
Apologists will argue that one chooses to live where there are great numbers of tourists. There should therefore not be complaints of nimbyism. Tourists can come but they can't urinate in my backyard. Such an argument is absurd. If there is residential property where there are tourists, then people will live in that property. They are entitled to feel that there should be some respect for their rights and for their own peace and quiet.
The relationship between resident and tourist is uneasy because of the very nature of resorts. There is perhaps an argument that when resorts were being planned (and there was precious little coherence in the planning), there should have been a form of real-estate apartheid. Here is an area for tourists, here is one for residents. Ne'er the twain would the two need to intermingle, so ne'er would a tourist wee in a backyard.
But in sociological terms, tourism was long ago predicated on the notion of cultural exchange and experience. Separation of the local population from tourists would not have facilitated this. It would in any event have been implausible from an urban planning point of view to have realised such separation. There are specific instances of it, less so in Europe, more so in other parts of the world, but tourism planning has generally adhered to the principle of cultural exchange through side-by-side accommodation, mainly because it would have been impractical to try and avoid it.
The overwhelming majority of tourists are of course respectful. The problem lies with those who are not, and it is at its greatest when there is mass invasion of one's backyard, as is the case in Arenal (which is not alone). Vladimir Raitz, one of the fathers of mass tourism, believed in cultural exchange. He was later responsible for Club 18-30, though not as it was to become. Before he died, he said he was appalled. He had inadvertently bequeathed the backyard.
The moral of the story is, of course, not to go invading people's property. Whatever his intention had been, the tourist discovered to his cost that it isn't wise to enter someone's yard without permission. Maybe he had needed to go to the toilet. Maybe so. There was obviously still no excuse.
There's another little story. Unlike the above tale, which was in Alcudia, this one concerns Magalluf. A photo with this second story shows a tourist having a leak on some garden at an apartments' building in the resort. This was not a tourist apartments' building (though these days you can never be sure), it was a residential block. Chummy in the photo is just one who has apparently been availing himself of toilet facilities at the apartments. At least he was urinating outside.
In Arenal, those in need of relief are tending to be civilised enough to use the beach, though pavements, doorways and what have you can also come in useful. The nightly peeing is the tinkling that is the accompaniment to the crescendos of noise, to the piles of abandoned bottles which are left scattered on the beach and to the cries of the nighttime drunks. Never let it be said that education has anything to do with decent behaviour. These drunks are the spring breakers, the students, in Arenal at present, from the UK and Germany. The local residents, sick to the back teeth of this in past years, sick to the back teeth of the mess, the lack of police, the lack of town hall action, have had enough. The beach and the front line may not directly be their backyard, but they live there.
These three stories point to an inherent tension and conflict in tourism. There have always been drunk tourists. There have always been loud, messy, disrespectful, poorly behaved tourists. But the greater the overall number of tourists, the greater the number of the badly behaved. Magalluf may claim to be transforming itself, but hell may well freeze over before individuals cease using someone's backyard for peeing in. The drive towards a more up-market tourist should eradicate problems, as the mayor of Calvia believes. Yet even the up-market is known to take the odd drink too many.
Apologists will argue that one chooses to live where there are great numbers of tourists. There should therefore not be complaints of nimbyism. Tourists can come but they can't urinate in my backyard. Such an argument is absurd. If there is residential property where there are tourists, then people will live in that property. They are entitled to feel that there should be some respect for their rights and for their own peace and quiet.
The relationship between resident and tourist is uneasy because of the very nature of resorts. There is perhaps an argument that when resorts were being planned (and there was precious little coherence in the planning), there should have been a form of real-estate apartheid. Here is an area for tourists, here is one for residents. Ne'er the twain would the two need to intermingle, so ne'er would a tourist wee in a backyard.
But in sociological terms, tourism was long ago predicated on the notion of cultural exchange and experience. Separation of the local population from tourists would not have facilitated this. It would in any event have been implausible from an urban planning point of view to have realised such separation. There are specific instances of it, less so in Europe, more so in other parts of the world, but tourism planning has generally adhered to the principle of cultural exchange through side-by-side accommodation, mainly because it would have been impractical to try and avoid it.
The overwhelming majority of tourists are of course respectful. The problem lies with those who are not, and it is at its greatest when there is mass invasion of one's backyard, as is the case in Arenal (which is not alone). Vladimir Raitz, one of the fathers of mass tourism, believed in cultural exchange. He was later responsible for Club 18-30, though not as it was to become. Before he died, he said he was appalled. He had inadvertently bequeathed the backyard.
Thursday, June 01, 2017
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 1 June 2017
Morning high (7.31am): 18.6C
Forecast high: 25C; UV: 8
Three-day forecast: 2 June - Sun, 27C; 3 June - Sun, cloud, 27C; 4 June - Cloud, sun, 26C
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): Northeast 2 to 4.
Fine morning. Fine, sunny day to come.
Evening update (20.00): High of 28.3C.
Forecast high: 25C; UV: 8
Three-day forecast: 2 June - Sun, 27C; 3 June - Sun, cloud, 27C; 4 June - Cloud, sun, 26C
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): Northeast 2 to 4.
Fine morning. Fine, sunny day to come.
Evening update (20.00): High of 28.3C.
Villains On The Road
Which collective in Mallorca is the greatest villain of all? Politicians? No, they're too much of an obvious and easy target. The wretches of Magalluf, Santa Ponsa and Playa de Palma who masquerade as prostitutes and can resort to pepper spraying victims in their pursuit of loot to pacify their mafia bosses? Quite probably they are the greatest.
They, the prostitutes, are villains of criminality. With certain other collectives there may be some issues of legality, but that's not the same thing. Legality or illegality is often a question of legal interpretation. Beating someone up, robbing him and being run by organised gangs carries no equivocation of interpretation. Or shouldn't, as oddly enough it can seem as though it does.
Let's consider three other groups. Hoteliers. Here is a collective which is castigated for its greed. They put up prices, invest the profits in luxurious all-inclusives in distant lands, pay employees meagre wages and butt heads with the heroic angels of the holiday rental sector. Villains. Well, possibly, but such generalising does rather fail to take into account the fact that the hoteliers have been the cause and conduit for much of Mallorca's wealth.
Then we have cyclists. These occupiers of drivers' territory, they are terrorisers of the road. They are without courtesy, without manners and, worst of all, they wear lycra. Their villainry is such that it is greater in the eyes of some than that of the hoteliers. This is villainry that brings with it venom and even hatred. Will they introduce cyclist hate crimes into the penal code at some point? Perhaps the legislators should, but there again they are politicians, and what do they know. But cyclists bring with them off-season employment and business. The villainry argument cannot accept that there are indeed cyclists who spread wealth rather than keep it hidden inside the lycra.
The third collective is taxi drivers. Oh dear, oh dear. This reviled group is the manifestation of rip-off, it exploits and seeks to maintain some form of cartel, it defies all attempts at transport reform, it is the antithesis of the "collaborative economy". Fine, but it costs to operate a taxi, there are regulations to abide by, and, strangely enough, some punters quite like taking a taxi.
While there can be justification for characterising these three groups as villains, there is also a good deal of irrationality. Villainry brooks no perspective. The cliché narratives are thus littered with greed, lycra and rip-off.
Justification comes when the villains act in a way that makes them their own worst enemies. The taxi drivers did just that last week. Stopping work at the airport for over three hours was no way to win over hearts and minds that had hardened because of their opposition to new bus services. The president of the travel agencies association was right to describe the action as pathetic. The fact that it took place on the evening before the government was due to approve its decree on touting for business on the public highway (a decree to clarify the situation to the taxi drivers' advantage) made it even less acceptable.
So, the taxi drivers, especially as the cyclists have mostly all gone, can now claim the number one villainry spot. Is there no sympathy for them? Personally, I have some, as I do for the hoteliers and cyclists. Ten thousand drivers from across the land marched on Madrid on Tuesday. Their protest was directed at so-called VTCs, vehicles with drivers, a specific form of transport into which Uber and Cabify are falling. In other words, they are not taxis; they are a category apart.
Neither Uber nor Cabify operates in Mallorca. Yet. In fact neither is particularly widespread on the mainland. Uber was ordered by the courts to stop operations at the end of 2014. It has since re-emerged as UberX under the VTC umbrella but is still very confined. The taxi drivers, though, fear the spread of both services, which is why they were protesting.
The problem for the taxi drivers is that their villainry is such that their critics cry competition and a dismantling of a form of monopoly. Uber is the über-example of competition on the roads in much the same way as Airbnb is in apartment buildings. While Airbnb is viewed as a villain in some quarters, it is hailed as a hero in others. Uber, at present, appears only to be a villain in the eyes of taxi drivers. Otherwise it is the people's hero, effecting the free marketing of transport.
However, these rival services exploit a situation not of the taxi-drivers' making. It is one of legislators and regulators who have so over-regulated the taxi sector that it can't adequately react even if it wanted to. Consider them villains if you must, but maybe it is the politicians who are indeed the greatest villains.
They, the prostitutes, are villains of criminality. With certain other collectives there may be some issues of legality, but that's not the same thing. Legality or illegality is often a question of legal interpretation. Beating someone up, robbing him and being run by organised gangs carries no equivocation of interpretation. Or shouldn't, as oddly enough it can seem as though it does.
Let's consider three other groups. Hoteliers. Here is a collective which is castigated for its greed. They put up prices, invest the profits in luxurious all-inclusives in distant lands, pay employees meagre wages and butt heads with the heroic angels of the holiday rental sector. Villains. Well, possibly, but such generalising does rather fail to take into account the fact that the hoteliers have been the cause and conduit for much of Mallorca's wealth.
Then we have cyclists. These occupiers of drivers' territory, they are terrorisers of the road. They are without courtesy, without manners and, worst of all, they wear lycra. Their villainry is such that it is greater in the eyes of some than that of the hoteliers. This is villainry that brings with it venom and even hatred. Will they introduce cyclist hate crimes into the penal code at some point? Perhaps the legislators should, but there again they are politicians, and what do they know. But cyclists bring with them off-season employment and business. The villainry argument cannot accept that there are indeed cyclists who spread wealth rather than keep it hidden inside the lycra.
The third collective is taxi drivers. Oh dear, oh dear. This reviled group is the manifestation of rip-off, it exploits and seeks to maintain some form of cartel, it defies all attempts at transport reform, it is the antithesis of the "collaborative economy". Fine, but it costs to operate a taxi, there are regulations to abide by, and, strangely enough, some punters quite like taking a taxi.
While there can be justification for characterising these three groups as villains, there is also a good deal of irrationality. Villainry brooks no perspective. The cliché narratives are thus littered with greed, lycra and rip-off.
Justification comes when the villains act in a way that makes them their own worst enemies. The taxi drivers did just that last week. Stopping work at the airport for over three hours was no way to win over hearts and minds that had hardened because of their opposition to new bus services. The president of the travel agencies association was right to describe the action as pathetic. The fact that it took place on the evening before the government was due to approve its decree on touting for business on the public highway (a decree to clarify the situation to the taxi drivers' advantage) made it even less acceptable.
So, the taxi drivers, especially as the cyclists have mostly all gone, can now claim the number one villainry spot. Is there no sympathy for them? Personally, I have some, as I do for the hoteliers and cyclists. Ten thousand drivers from across the land marched on Madrid on Tuesday. Their protest was directed at so-called VTCs, vehicles with drivers, a specific form of transport into which Uber and Cabify are falling. In other words, they are not taxis; they are a category apart.
Neither Uber nor Cabify operates in Mallorca. Yet. In fact neither is particularly widespread on the mainland. Uber was ordered by the courts to stop operations at the end of 2014. It has since re-emerged as UberX under the VTC umbrella but is still very confined. The taxi drivers, though, fear the spread of both services, which is why they were protesting.
The problem for the taxi drivers is that their villainry is such that their critics cry competition and a dismantling of a form of monopoly. Uber is the über-example of competition on the roads in much the same way as Airbnb is in apartment buildings. While Airbnb is viewed as a villain in some quarters, it is hailed as a hero in others. Uber, at present, appears only to be a villain in the eyes of taxi drivers. Otherwise it is the people's hero, effecting the free marketing of transport.
However, these rival services exploit a situation not of the taxi-drivers' making. It is one of legislators and regulators who have so over-regulated the taxi sector that it can't adequately react even if it wanted to. Consider them villains if you must, but maybe it is the politicians who are indeed the greatest villains.
Wednesday, May 31, 2017
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 31 May 2017
Morning high (7.40am): 20C
Forecast high: 25C; UV: 8
Three-day forecast: 1 June - Sun, cloud, 26C; 2 June - Sun, 26C; 3 June - Sun, cloud, 28C
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): South 3 to 4 veering Northwest towards midday.
Quite cloudy and close to begin with. Outside chance of a spot of rain but otherwise fine.
Evening update (20.15): High of 27C.
Forecast high: 25C; UV: 8
Three-day forecast: 1 June - Sun, cloud, 26C; 2 June - Sun, 26C; 3 June - Sun, cloud, 28C
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): South 3 to 4 veering Northwest towards midday.
Quite cloudy and close to begin with. Outside chance of a spot of rain but otherwise fine.
Evening update (20.15): High of 27C.
Defending The Incompatible
In February, an article appeared in the local press which praised the bravery of Calvia's mayor, Alfonso Rodríguez. As I said of this at the time: "His bravery was because he had shown his willingness to remove a town hall official who was obstructing an investigation by a lower-ranking official. Moreover, Rodríguez was making it clear that Calvia will be ensuring that this investigation proceeds."
The mayor now faces a charge of malfeasance, an abuse of power, an act by a public official which is legally unjustified and contrary to law. The charge has been brought against him by Pedro Horrach, a name that should be very familiar. Horrach was until recently a prosecutor with the anti-corruption delegation in the Balearics: the best known prosecutor in Mallorca and probably in Spain. It was Horrach who gripped a nation and who came to the attention of the international media as the trial of Iñaki Urdangarin was broadcast. Horrach was the prosecutor of Urdangarin, of Matas (not for the first time) and others. He was not the prosecutor of Princess Cristina.
In a separate article, I praised Horrach. Despite the disagreement with Judge Castro regarding the prosecution of the Infanta (Castro was for, Horrach against), his honour was not in question. It still isn't. But I am not alone in having been surprised (to put it mildly) that it was Horrach who should be the one pressing charges against Rodríguez. No longer an employee of the state, back in private practice, his first notable intervention was linked to a corruption investigation of vastly greater significance than that of Urdangarin or anything that Matas got up to: the Cursach affair.
The town hall official who Rodríguez removed was Jaime Nadal. The former director of commercial affairs, it wasn't strictly his domain to be involved with licences: this is the business of the "activities" department. Nevertheless, it was alleged that he had sought to obstruct a review into the BCM licence. Rodríguez took his decision only a few weeks before the events of early March. The National Police raided Megapark, BCM, Calvia town hall and other establishments. Tolo Cursach was arrested. The mayor wouldn't have known about this. But when Nadal was himself arrested last week, accused of having favoured Cursach businesses, another piece of the jigsaw seemed to have been placed. At which point, enter Pedro Horrach, who had come to Nadal's defence.
Horrach is of course at liberty to take on any case he wishes. But the prosecution service, his one-time colleagues, believe that there is incompatibility. The college of lawyers in the Balearics, essentially like the Bar Council in England and Wales, is considering a breach of the state code regarding compatibility. It could oblige Horrach to step away from the case.
He wasn't directly involved in the Cursach investigation. The chief prosecutor is Miguel Ángel Subirán, a former colleague who was seemingly taken aback that Horrach should have been in court when Nadal made his appearance before the investigating judge, Manuel Penalva. The possible incompatibility arises from the fact that Horrach did have some involvement in the wider investigation into police corruption, which led eventually to Cursach. He had, for instance, passed on to Subirán a report by businesspeople in Magalluf who had complained to Horrach about police, politicians and bribery. These businesspeople had gone to Horrach because they hadn't felt they could trust going to the police.
The issue of possible incompatibility will be one for legal argument, but there is a separate issue, one of perception, one of appearance. Horrach was something of the people's hero, a tireless persecutor of the corrupt. With Castro, Subirán, Carrau, Penalva and other judges and prosecutors, he had won the people's respect and admiration. He now risks seeing that evaporate.
One isn't of course party to the minutiae of the accusations against Nadal. There may indeed be very good grounds for his defence. There may well be good reasons for the charge levelled at Rodríguez. But it is the fact that Horrach has become involved which has stunned so many people. Even more so because of the alleged link of Nadal to Cursach.
To the outside world, i.e. the world outside Mallorca, Cursach is of little significance. What mainly matters to the outside world is the fate of BCM. The outside world draws a distinction between the criminality allegations and the club. In Mallorca, though there are many who are making a similar distinction, there are others who are not. A quite astonishing recent article in El País* makes the point clearly enough.
The Cursach affair surpasses anything else. Horrach is now caught up in it. And there are those who express their concern about the show which surrounds the justice system. The walk to the courts, the sheer spectacle and the consequent celebrity. But celebrity can turn sour.
* http://elpais.com/elpais/2017/05/19/inenglish/1495192924_803760.html
Index for May 2017
Airbnb myths - 6 May 2017
All-inclusives and false claims - 3 May 2017
Andalusian migration - 5 May 2017
Balearic financing - 17 May 2017
Balti Picornell - 7 May 2017
Beach weddings - 25 May 2017
Blue Flags - 11 May 2017
German tourism quality - 16 May 2017
Holiday rentals - 15 May 2017, 27 May 2017
Los Javaloyas - 22 May 2017
Mallorca Live Festival - 12 May 2017
May fairs - 8 May 2017
Mayors' job swaps - 30 May 2017
Mediaevalism - 20 May 2017
Park and ride for beaches - 2 May 2017
Pedro Horrach and Cursach affair - 31 May 2017
Pedro Sánchez returns for PSOE - 24 May 2017
Podemos Balearic leadership - 14 May 2017, 18 May 2017, 28 May 2017
Protests in Mallorca - 26 May 2017
Provincial Deputation - 10 May 2017
Son Bosc golf - 29 May 2017
Ternelles finca and beach trespass - 23 May 2017
Thomas Jefferson and Mallorcan wine - 1 May 2017
Tourism responsibilities - 13 May 2017
Tourist saturation - 4 May 2017
Touristification - 19 May 2017
Tramuntana and holiday rentals - 9 May 2017
Xelo Huertas - 21 May 2017
The mayor now faces a charge of malfeasance, an abuse of power, an act by a public official which is legally unjustified and contrary to law. The charge has been brought against him by Pedro Horrach, a name that should be very familiar. Horrach was until recently a prosecutor with the anti-corruption delegation in the Balearics: the best known prosecutor in Mallorca and probably in Spain. It was Horrach who gripped a nation and who came to the attention of the international media as the trial of Iñaki Urdangarin was broadcast. Horrach was the prosecutor of Urdangarin, of Matas (not for the first time) and others. He was not the prosecutor of Princess Cristina.
In a separate article, I praised Horrach. Despite the disagreement with Judge Castro regarding the prosecution of the Infanta (Castro was for, Horrach against), his honour was not in question. It still isn't. But I am not alone in having been surprised (to put it mildly) that it was Horrach who should be the one pressing charges against Rodríguez. No longer an employee of the state, back in private practice, his first notable intervention was linked to a corruption investigation of vastly greater significance than that of Urdangarin or anything that Matas got up to: the Cursach affair.
The town hall official who Rodríguez removed was Jaime Nadal. The former director of commercial affairs, it wasn't strictly his domain to be involved with licences: this is the business of the "activities" department. Nevertheless, it was alleged that he had sought to obstruct a review into the BCM licence. Rodríguez took his decision only a few weeks before the events of early March. The National Police raided Megapark, BCM, Calvia town hall and other establishments. Tolo Cursach was arrested. The mayor wouldn't have known about this. But when Nadal was himself arrested last week, accused of having favoured Cursach businesses, another piece of the jigsaw seemed to have been placed. At which point, enter Pedro Horrach, who had come to Nadal's defence.
Horrach is of course at liberty to take on any case he wishes. But the prosecution service, his one-time colleagues, believe that there is incompatibility. The college of lawyers in the Balearics, essentially like the Bar Council in England and Wales, is considering a breach of the state code regarding compatibility. It could oblige Horrach to step away from the case.
He wasn't directly involved in the Cursach investigation. The chief prosecutor is Miguel Ángel Subirán, a former colleague who was seemingly taken aback that Horrach should have been in court when Nadal made his appearance before the investigating judge, Manuel Penalva. The possible incompatibility arises from the fact that Horrach did have some involvement in the wider investigation into police corruption, which led eventually to Cursach. He had, for instance, passed on to Subirán a report by businesspeople in Magalluf who had complained to Horrach about police, politicians and bribery. These businesspeople had gone to Horrach because they hadn't felt they could trust going to the police.
The issue of possible incompatibility will be one for legal argument, but there is a separate issue, one of perception, one of appearance. Horrach was something of the people's hero, a tireless persecutor of the corrupt. With Castro, Subirán, Carrau, Penalva and other judges and prosecutors, he had won the people's respect and admiration. He now risks seeing that evaporate.
One isn't of course party to the minutiae of the accusations against Nadal. There may indeed be very good grounds for his defence. There may well be good reasons for the charge levelled at Rodríguez. But it is the fact that Horrach has become involved which has stunned so many people. Even more so because of the alleged link of Nadal to Cursach.
To the outside world, i.e. the world outside Mallorca, Cursach is of little significance. What mainly matters to the outside world is the fate of BCM. The outside world draws a distinction between the criminality allegations and the club. In Mallorca, though there are many who are making a similar distinction, there are others who are not. A quite astonishing recent article in El País* makes the point clearly enough.
The Cursach affair surpasses anything else. Horrach is now caught up in it. And there are those who express their concern about the show which surrounds the justice system. The walk to the courts, the sheer spectacle and the consequent celebrity. But celebrity can turn sour.
* http://elpais.com/elpais/2017/05/19/inenglish/1495192924_803760.html
Index for May 2017
Airbnb myths - 6 May 2017
All-inclusives and false claims - 3 May 2017
Andalusian migration - 5 May 2017
Balearic financing - 17 May 2017
Balti Picornell - 7 May 2017
Beach weddings - 25 May 2017
Blue Flags - 11 May 2017
German tourism quality - 16 May 2017
Holiday rentals - 15 May 2017, 27 May 2017
Los Javaloyas - 22 May 2017
Mallorca Live Festival - 12 May 2017
May fairs - 8 May 2017
Mayors' job swaps - 30 May 2017
Mediaevalism - 20 May 2017
Park and ride for beaches - 2 May 2017
Pedro Horrach and Cursach affair - 31 May 2017
Pedro Sánchez returns for PSOE - 24 May 2017
Podemos Balearic leadership - 14 May 2017, 18 May 2017, 28 May 2017
Protests in Mallorca - 26 May 2017
Provincial Deputation - 10 May 2017
Son Bosc golf - 29 May 2017
Ternelles finca and beach trespass - 23 May 2017
Thomas Jefferson and Mallorcan wine - 1 May 2017
Tourism responsibilities - 13 May 2017
Tourist saturation - 4 May 2017
Touristification - 19 May 2017
Tramuntana and holiday rentals - 9 May 2017
Xelo Huertas - 21 May 2017
Tuesday, May 30, 2017
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 30 May 2017
Morning high (7.25am): 20.5C
Forecast high: 25C; UV: 7
Three-day forecast: 31 May - Cloud, 25C; 1 June - Sun, cloud, 26C; 2 June - Sun, 27C
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): East-Northeast 3 to 4.
Grey morning but dry. Feels stormy and there may well be a storm.
Evening update (19.45): High of 24.7C. Rain started around eleven and stopped about three in the afternoon. It was never heavy. Sun then came out.
Forecast high: 25C; UV: 7
Three-day forecast: 31 May - Cloud, 25C; 1 June - Sun, cloud, 26C; 2 June - Sun, 27C
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): East-Northeast 3 to 4.
Grey morning but dry. Feels stormy and there may well be a storm.
Evening update (19.45): High of 24.7C. Rain started around eleven and stopped about three in the afternoon. It was never heavy. Sun then came out.
The Job-Swapping Mayors Of Mallorca
Mayors in Mallorca job share. Or rather, they job swap. Top-dog musical chairs is a game played out at many a town hall, and it's all thanks to proportional representation and the consequent need for coalition. It does depend, however. Some mayors are secure in their four-year tenure, courtesy of their parties' majorities. Others, whose parties don't have majorities, are not obliged to enter into job-swapping contracts. They form settled coalitions or pacts. They may be perceived, even by other parties, as being the right man or woman to see out the four years.
The job swaps occur because pacts aren't settled. Parties insist on having some mayoral action. Negotiations for forming administrations after municipal elections can depend for their success on agreement to hand over the mayoral wand mid-term. Good consensual democratic stuff, it is really the only way that there can ever be something resembling continuity and control. Without such an arrangement, administrations would never get off the ground. And if they did, they would soon fall back to earth because of the untenable nature of minority government.
The continuity, though, has the inherent potential to be discontinuous. This seems obvious if there is a switch from a mayor representing a particular ideology to one with a different political perspective. The right can hand over to the left, or vice versa. In Arta, there is an example of the former. The El Pi mayor, Tolo Gili, has given way to PSOE's Manolo Galán.
But there may well be continuity. If the agreements for the four years were firm, if the personalities are right, if opposition parties don't cause problems, then even a move from right to left doesn't automatically mean a different course after two years. A further factor is the nature of the municipality. Smaller ones have smaller town halls in terms of councillors and structures. They can function in a more coherent fashion because of their scale, while the self-interests of parties in maintaining their positions of ruling power prevent them from disrupting the concord.
Palma town hall highlights the potential for discontinuity more than others. Its size makes it unique. It functions more like its own government than a mere town hall. The three-way pact of PSOE, Més and Podemos has been exposed as shaky, and the knowledge that there is to be a mayoral job swap has partly contributed to this. For two years, José Hila of PSOE has been a mayor on his way out, while Antoni Noguera of Més has been the mayor-in-waiting: he now only has another month to wait.
In a similar way to the Balearic government, Palma has departments which are controlled by the different parties. There may on the face of it be accord, consensus and so on, but the reality is something else. The conflicts this party control of portfolios causes are no better demonstrated than with new bylaws for terraces and illegal street selling. PSOE have clashed with Podemos. The impending change of mayor only complicates the situation.
There is additional complication because of Noguera's implication with the Més contracts' affair. The opposition Partido Popular, in any event keen to do anything possible to disrupt the pact, has made overtures to PSOE to keep Noguera out. Although an agreement exists, when it comes to the moment for the handover, there still has to be a vote of councillors to elect the new mayor. The PP won't succeed in its attempt because Hila and PSOE would be crucified by supporters were there to be such a volte-face.
The Palma case also raises questions as to the roles of outgoing and incoming mayors over the first two years of an administration. Noguera, with his responsibility for the model of the city, positioned himself as a virtual mayor. There is nothing more important for a mayor than the vision he has for a municipality. So, Noguera has spent two years preparing for the job. Hila will take over this model of the city portfolio. Will his vision be the same and how well might he take being told by Noguera that it will be?
Alaro is clearly a much smaller town hall, but in Guillem Balboa there is a situation similar to Noguera. The opposition Junts per Alaro has openly accused Balboa of having spent the time leading up to taking over as mayor next month in dedicating himself more to being the future mayor than being the councillor for urban planning. Oppositions do of course make such observations. Balboa refutes the claim, but is it so surprising that he might have been?
Job-swapping mayors good for democracy? Possibly they are, so long as there is continuity. That can of course all disappear because of new elections, but in the meantime, consider Llucmajor. They're on to their second mayor, and there's a third yet to come.
The job swaps occur because pacts aren't settled. Parties insist on having some mayoral action. Negotiations for forming administrations after municipal elections can depend for their success on agreement to hand over the mayoral wand mid-term. Good consensual democratic stuff, it is really the only way that there can ever be something resembling continuity and control. Without such an arrangement, administrations would never get off the ground. And if they did, they would soon fall back to earth because of the untenable nature of minority government.
The continuity, though, has the inherent potential to be discontinuous. This seems obvious if there is a switch from a mayor representing a particular ideology to one with a different political perspective. The right can hand over to the left, or vice versa. In Arta, there is an example of the former. The El Pi mayor, Tolo Gili, has given way to PSOE's Manolo Galán.
But there may well be continuity. If the agreements for the four years were firm, if the personalities are right, if opposition parties don't cause problems, then even a move from right to left doesn't automatically mean a different course after two years. A further factor is the nature of the municipality. Smaller ones have smaller town halls in terms of councillors and structures. They can function in a more coherent fashion because of their scale, while the self-interests of parties in maintaining their positions of ruling power prevent them from disrupting the concord.
Palma town hall highlights the potential for discontinuity more than others. Its size makes it unique. It functions more like its own government than a mere town hall. The three-way pact of PSOE, Més and Podemos has been exposed as shaky, and the knowledge that there is to be a mayoral job swap has partly contributed to this. For two years, José Hila of PSOE has been a mayor on his way out, while Antoni Noguera of Més has been the mayor-in-waiting: he now only has another month to wait.
In a similar way to the Balearic government, Palma has departments which are controlled by the different parties. There may on the face of it be accord, consensus and so on, but the reality is something else. The conflicts this party control of portfolios causes are no better demonstrated than with new bylaws for terraces and illegal street selling. PSOE have clashed with Podemos. The impending change of mayor only complicates the situation.
There is additional complication because of Noguera's implication with the Més contracts' affair. The opposition Partido Popular, in any event keen to do anything possible to disrupt the pact, has made overtures to PSOE to keep Noguera out. Although an agreement exists, when it comes to the moment for the handover, there still has to be a vote of councillors to elect the new mayor. The PP won't succeed in its attempt because Hila and PSOE would be crucified by supporters were there to be such a volte-face.
The Palma case also raises questions as to the roles of outgoing and incoming mayors over the first two years of an administration. Noguera, with his responsibility for the model of the city, positioned himself as a virtual mayor. There is nothing more important for a mayor than the vision he has for a municipality. So, Noguera has spent two years preparing for the job. Hila will take over this model of the city portfolio. Will his vision be the same and how well might he take being told by Noguera that it will be?
Alaro is clearly a much smaller town hall, but in Guillem Balboa there is a situation similar to Noguera. The opposition Junts per Alaro has openly accused Balboa of having spent the time leading up to taking over as mayor next month in dedicating himself more to being the future mayor than being the councillor for urban planning. Oppositions do of course make such observations. Balboa refutes the claim, but is it so surprising that he might have been?
Job-swapping mayors good for democracy? Possibly they are, so long as there is continuity. That can of course all disappear because of new elections, but in the meantime, consider Llucmajor. They're on to their second mayor, and there's a third yet to come.
Monday, May 29, 2017
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 29 May 2017
Morning high (7.10am): 17.1C
Forecast high: 27C; UV: 8
Three-day forecast: 30 May - Cloud, rain, 25C; 31 May - Cloud, sun, 25C; 1 June - Sun, cloud, 26C
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): East 3 to 4.
More fine weather today, but due to cloud over this evening and there may well be a storm overnight. Tomorrow's forecast isn't that promising.
Evening update (20.00): High of 29.4C.
Forecast high: 27C; UV: 8
Three-day forecast: 30 May - Cloud, rain, 25C; 31 May - Cloud, sun, 25C; 1 June - Sun, cloud, 26C
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): East 3 to 4.
More fine weather today, but due to cloud over this evening and there may well be a storm overnight. Tomorrow's forecast isn't that promising.
Evening update (20.00): High of 29.4C.
Son Bosc - The End?
Ever since I've been writing about Mallorca - the starting date, if you must know, was 1 November 2005 - there have been issues that have regularly surfaced. One such is the controversy over the golf course on the Son Bosc finca in Muro. This may be the last time I need to mention the golf course. The Balearic High Court has dismissed an appeal by the developers. It has ratified a previous court decision which ruled that the licence to develop the course, given by Muro town hall, was illegal.
One can never be absolutely certain with the law, certainly not here, but the environmentalists GOB seem pretty sure. The court's ruling "definitively" puts an end to the possibility of developing the course. The decision has gone against the company Golf Platja de Muro, which comprises certain hotel chains, and the environmentalists will be breathing a sigh of relief.
It was at one time unclear to me how much sense there was with building this course. It was the business angle that was my main misgiving, but as the years passed and the drive towards lengthening the tourism season and eating into the winter months became ever greater a theme, I started to see the possibilities. Playa de Muro, for all that it has now acquired late-winter tourism courtesy of cycling, is still pretty much dead in the winter. A golf course might just have brought it to life.
Business, though, was not on the minds of opponents. They weren't only the environmentalists. There were people in Muro who objected as well. This came home to me when there was a protest against what was then the plan to eventually demolish the cottages of Ses Casetes des Capellans. A banner read that Capellans was for the people, a golf course was for the rich.
The environmental argument was strong. It had the backing of the international Ramsar wetlands convention on account of the finca being, more or less, an extension of Albufera. Various species were identified which could be harmed: a rare orchid, bee-eating birds and so on. The argument had political support. This really came to the fore as a result of the upheaval in the 2007-2011 government. The Unió Mallorquina, ejected from the coalition by President Antich because of the numerous corruption cases that had engulfed it, had been in charge of the environment ministry. Clearance work at the finca had started. When the UM was removed, the PSM (Majorcan socialists), now the main component of Més, gained the ministry. Everything changed and pretty much immediately.
Reacting to the ruling, Més say that it defends one of the most sensitive and important natural environments in the Balearics. The appeal to the High Court was the last resort. So, is it all over? Quite probably it is, but if there were thoughts of further appeal, these might in any event be dashed by the government's reform of tourism legislation. The building of new golf courses is to "definitively" be prohibited. But how definitive is definitive?
One can never be absolutely certain with the law, certainly not here, but the environmentalists GOB seem pretty sure. The court's ruling "definitively" puts an end to the possibility of developing the course. The decision has gone against the company Golf Platja de Muro, which comprises certain hotel chains, and the environmentalists will be breathing a sigh of relief.
It was at one time unclear to me how much sense there was with building this course. It was the business angle that was my main misgiving, but as the years passed and the drive towards lengthening the tourism season and eating into the winter months became ever greater a theme, I started to see the possibilities. Playa de Muro, for all that it has now acquired late-winter tourism courtesy of cycling, is still pretty much dead in the winter. A golf course might just have brought it to life.
Business, though, was not on the minds of opponents. They weren't only the environmentalists. There were people in Muro who objected as well. This came home to me when there was a protest against what was then the plan to eventually demolish the cottages of Ses Casetes des Capellans. A banner read that Capellans was for the people, a golf course was for the rich.
The environmental argument was strong. It had the backing of the international Ramsar wetlands convention on account of the finca being, more or less, an extension of Albufera. Various species were identified which could be harmed: a rare orchid, bee-eating birds and so on. The argument had political support. This really came to the fore as a result of the upheaval in the 2007-2011 government. The Unió Mallorquina, ejected from the coalition by President Antich because of the numerous corruption cases that had engulfed it, had been in charge of the environment ministry. Clearance work at the finca had started. When the UM was removed, the PSM (Majorcan socialists), now the main component of Més, gained the ministry. Everything changed and pretty much immediately.
Reacting to the ruling, Més say that it defends one of the most sensitive and important natural environments in the Balearics. The appeal to the High Court was the last resort. So, is it all over? Quite probably it is, but if there were thoughts of further appeal, these might in any event be dashed by the government's reform of tourism legislation. The building of new golf courses is to "definitively" be prohibited. But how definitive is definitive?
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