Morning high (7.01am): 11.1C
Forecast high: 15C; UV: 3
Three-day forecast: 12 March - Sun, wind, 15C; 13 March - Cloud, 12C; 14 March - Cloud, 12C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): North-Northeast 6 to 7.
A better day expected today with more sun. Still windy though and an alert remains in place for the coasts. Tomorrow also due to be sunny.
Evening update (19.30): Good deal of sun today but the wind was vicious. High of 15.4C.
Friday, March 11, 2016
Don't Mess With The Germans
History can never repeat itself exactly. Certain and basic circumstances may be similar but there are new ones to throw into the contemporary mix. These do not, however, disguise the potential for repetition that stems from the basic elements.
Let's start with the history and the story of the old eco-tax. There is, as I explained in an article last July, some selective memory regarding its impact. The facts were that prior to its introduction in May 2002, there had been a drop in tourism numbers the previous year. In its first year of implementation, there was a far greater drop: the percentage was 7.6% down. In 2003, the second and final year of the tax, tourism numbers grew again, so much so that the losses of 2002 were all but made up: the percentage growth was 6.6%.
What is conveniently overlooked when considering the eco-tax is the fact that the German economy was experiencing a period of downturn and then upturn. The overwhelming bulk of tourists who went awol in 2002 were German. While the eco-tax was partly to blame for the 2002 decline, it wasn't the only factor. Economic circumstances were at play, as was the lousy public relations that had emanated from Mallorca and which had led to an impression in Germany that certain elements of its tourism market were not welcome on the island. This lousy PR was to be rectified with a charm offensive.
The German and British markets are equally important to Mallorca, but the German association with Mallorca is stronger than Britain's, which has created a far deeper interest in Mallorcan affairs than is the case in Britain. And so we come to the present day and the potential for history to repeat itself.
London's World Travel Market was held in November. At the time the tourist tax was a glint in the eye of a politician on a distant horizon. Now, at Berlin's ITB fair, the tax is being brought to shore, soon to disembark. The proximity of its introduction is thus drawing sharper attention but it is not all that is drawing attention.
There are parts of Mallorca which are and always will be German. Playa de Palma, Arenal in particular, is one such part. By no means all Germans are drawn to it. There are many who despair of the behaviour of some of their fellow countrypeople who go there. As two twenty-year-olds, staying in Playa de Muro, once said to me in disparaging tones, having gone and taken a look for themselves. "There are many drunken tourists in Arenal."
Critical or not, the crackdown on behaviour is causing a rumbling not wholly dissimilar to that which occurred at the start of the century. The message, misinterpreted though it might be by some, has echoes of the one which had suggested Germans were not welcome. It also has echoes of what has occurred in Magalluf with the British market, but in Arenal there is one very important difference. It is a territorial one, centred primarily on Balneario 6 - the "Ballermann" - and the beach. This is German land and it is under attack by the Palma moves to stamp out street and beach drinking.
There are other issues. One is the concern with a shortage of water. Another is sewage. Issues such as this receive greater attention in Germany than they would do in Britain, which is the consequence of that deeper interest in Mallorcan affairs and corresponding coverage given to them by the German media. On the opposite side of the island from Playa de Palma, there is the matter of the sewage plant that serves resorts very popular with the German market - Playa de Muro and Can Picafort. Last year there were numerous complaints about bad odours, while there was also some alarm at what appeared as though it might have been sewage discharge close to the shore.
In Berlin, it is understood, tour operators and leading Mallorcan hoteliers have been wanting words with the regional government representatives about this. Biel Barceló, President Armengol, the environment minister, Vicenç Vidal, have all been quizzed, and the interrogators have included leading executives from Iberostar, which has several hotels in the Muro-Can Picafort zone.
But it is the tourist tax, above all, that is under scrutiny in Berlin. If the government got away with too much negativity regarding the tax in London, it can't avoid it in Berlin. The German association of tour operators and travel agents, DRV, sent a strongly worded letter to the government a month ago, expressing its concerns with the tax. ABTA had done so as well, but the German message was fiercer.
History doesn't repeat itself precisely, but it can conspire to bring similar circumstances together. The government can take solace in the Hobson's choice for tourists created by problems elsewhere. But for how long? The Germans are not happy.
Let's start with the history and the story of the old eco-tax. There is, as I explained in an article last July, some selective memory regarding its impact. The facts were that prior to its introduction in May 2002, there had been a drop in tourism numbers the previous year. In its first year of implementation, there was a far greater drop: the percentage was 7.6% down. In 2003, the second and final year of the tax, tourism numbers grew again, so much so that the losses of 2002 were all but made up: the percentage growth was 6.6%.
What is conveniently overlooked when considering the eco-tax is the fact that the German economy was experiencing a period of downturn and then upturn. The overwhelming bulk of tourists who went awol in 2002 were German. While the eco-tax was partly to blame for the 2002 decline, it wasn't the only factor. Economic circumstances were at play, as was the lousy public relations that had emanated from Mallorca and which had led to an impression in Germany that certain elements of its tourism market were not welcome on the island. This lousy PR was to be rectified with a charm offensive.
The German and British markets are equally important to Mallorca, but the German association with Mallorca is stronger than Britain's, which has created a far deeper interest in Mallorcan affairs than is the case in Britain. And so we come to the present day and the potential for history to repeat itself.
London's World Travel Market was held in November. At the time the tourist tax was a glint in the eye of a politician on a distant horizon. Now, at Berlin's ITB fair, the tax is being brought to shore, soon to disembark. The proximity of its introduction is thus drawing sharper attention but it is not all that is drawing attention.
There are parts of Mallorca which are and always will be German. Playa de Palma, Arenal in particular, is one such part. By no means all Germans are drawn to it. There are many who despair of the behaviour of some of their fellow countrypeople who go there. As two twenty-year-olds, staying in Playa de Muro, once said to me in disparaging tones, having gone and taken a look for themselves. "There are many drunken tourists in Arenal."
Critical or not, the crackdown on behaviour is causing a rumbling not wholly dissimilar to that which occurred at the start of the century. The message, misinterpreted though it might be by some, has echoes of the one which had suggested Germans were not welcome. It also has echoes of what has occurred in Magalluf with the British market, but in Arenal there is one very important difference. It is a territorial one, centred primarily on Balneario 6 - the "Ballermann" - and the beach. This is German land and it is under attack by the Palma moves to stamp out street and beach drinking.
There are other issues. One is the concern with a shortage of water. Another is sewage. Issues such as this receive greater attention in Germany than they would do in Britain, which is the consequence of that deeper interest in Mallorcan affairs and corresponding coverage given to them by the German media. On the opposite side of the island from Playa de Palma, there is the matter of the sewage plant that serves resorts very popular with the German market - Playa de Muro and Can Picafort. Last year there were numerous complaints about bad odours, while there was also some alarm at what appeared as though it might have been sewage discharge close to the shore.
In Berlin, it is understood, tour operators and leading Mallorcan hoteliers have been wanting words with the regional government representatives about this. Biel Barceló, President Armengol, the environment minister, Vicenç Vidal, have all been quizzed, and the interrogators have included leading executives from Iberostar, which has several hotels in the Muro-Can Picafort zone.
But it is the tourist tax, above all, that is under scrutiny in Berlin. If the government got away with too much negativity regarding the tax in London, it can't avoid it in Berlin. The German association of tour operators and travel agents, DRV, sent a strongly worded letter to the government a month ago, expressing its concerns with the tax. ABTA had done so as well, but the German message was fiercer.
History doesn't repeat itself precisely, but it can conspire to bring similar circumstances together. The government can take solace in the Hobson's choice for tourists created by problems elsewhere. But for how long? The Germans are not happy.
Thursday, March 10, 2016
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 10 March 2016
Morning high (8.04am): 8.8C
Forecast high: 14C; UV: 3
Three-day forecast: 11 March - Rain, 13C; 12 March - Sun, cloud, 13C; 13 March - Sun, cloud, 13C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): North 5 to 7, waves to three metres.
One of those kitchen-sink days: rain, wind, coastal conditions - alerts for all three. Very windy early on, grey and damp. Unlikely to be much improvement. Tomorrow better but strong winds remaining.
Evening update (19.30): Rubbish day. High of 11.4C.
Forecast high: 14C; UV: 3
Three-day forecast: 11 March - Rain, 13C; 12 March - Sun, cloud, 13C; 13 March - Sun, cloud, 13C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): North 5 to 7, waves to three metres.
One of those kitchen-sink days: rain, wind, coastal conditions - alerts for all three. Very windy early on, grey and damp. Unlikely to be much improvement. Tomorrow better but strong winds remaining.
Evening update (19.30): Rubbish day. High of 11.4C.
The Less Than Grand Pact For Education
Last Saturday, in the hall of Palma's Conservatory and with the accompaniment of a primary school choir, a pact was signed. This was a pact - a grand one at that - which Francina Armengol had been saying was required even before she came to form a different pact, one that she heads as president. It is a grand pact for education in the Balearics. One so grand that the following are not part of it: the Partido Popular, Ciudadanos, Podemos, the STEI-i and CCOO unions and the Plataforma Crida (the ones who have a habit of wearing the green t-shirts in support of quality, lay and Catalan education in the Balearics). At the actual signing, the PP did put in an appearance, not because they support the document that was being signed but because they wanted it to be known that they were willing to show some support for what they will doubtless have a great deal to say when the pact document turns up for parliamentary discussion.
The principal signatories to the grand pact were, therefore, the two parties of government - Francina's PSOE and Més. The principal speakers were President Armengol, Vice-President Barceló and the education minister, Martí March. Which doesn't sound as though the pact is all that grand. However, there were also representatives of Illes per un Pacte. Yes, another pact but one that has been absolutely fundamental in arriving at the pact. For three years, Illes per un Pacte, led by educationalists, has been been involving some eighty different organisations in attempting to draft a document that will pave the way for stability in Balearic education: a system that will not be liable to constant political upheaval. It managed to bring in bodies as diverse as the Assemblea de Docents (the most awkward of the awkward teaching squads), the Chamber of Commerce, the university and the federation of parents' associations. It is its document that was being signed and it is its document that will now form the basis for legislation to hopefully achieve the seemingly unachievable: once-and-for-all consensus as to the model of Balearic education.
The context for all this, if it needs restating, can be defined as the seven years from 2008 to 2015, a period during which the Castellano language was booted into the long grass of educational instruction, was left there as an endangered species and then revived on the back of the calamitous trilingual teaching project. Two governments with very differing ideologies had conspired in attempting to make the standard of Balearic public education worse than it was by their linguistic tunnel visions.
But as there is now a government similar in hue to that of 2008, why should there be any belief that history isn't simply repeating itself? Catalanism has arguably never had it so good as it currently does. However, there are those - notably the representatives from Illes per un Pacte - who are placing the emphasis where it should be and where it should have been for years: on addressing what is one of the highest rates of pupil failure in Spain. The emphasis is education in the round and not squabbling over the number of hours dedicated to teaching in which language.
This might be the hope but there is a long way to go in genuinely arriving at a grand pact that might legitimately be said to be consensual and which will be, as education minister March observed, without "rhetorical declarations, empty words and simple slogans" and will be based on "scientific facts" and basic points for educational improvement.
Until there is full disclosure of what this grand pact does actually entail, the propagandists are filling their boots in giving their interpretations. One has it that this pact is something born out of extreme left ideology that wouldn't have been out of place in Pol Pot's intellectual genocide in Cambodia. This, one fancies, is something of an exaggeration. Indeed, the leftist orientation of the pact has been queried by Podemos. One of the reasons it has not signed up is that it does not see a total rejection of the despised LOMCE, the national government's school curriculum for, supposedly, quality in education. Inherent to this, and crucially for Podemos, are LOMCE's non-secular aspects, as with the insistence on religious education. Podemos is squarely in the Crida green t-shirt camp: lay education and only lay education.
And inevitably, and much as Illes per un Pacte might not have been stressing this, there is the language issue. The pact, it is being suggested, will simply revert to the immersion in Catalan that was brought about in 2008. While schools will be given powers to decide on the use of language (which could include English if they want to), Catalan will have preferential treatment. Which is possibly how it should be. But a grand pact on education? Dream on.
The principal signatories to the grand pact were, therefore, the two parties of government - Francina's PSOE and Més. The principal speakers were President Armengol, Vice-President Barceló and the education minister, Martí March. Which doesn't sound as though the pact is all that grand. However, there were also representatives of Illes per un Pacte. Yes, another pact but one that has been absolutely fundamental in arriving at the pact. For three years, Illes per un Pacte, led by educationalists, has been been involving some eighty different organisations in attempting to draft a document that will pave the way for stability in Balearic education: a system that will not be liable to constant political upheaval. It managed to bring in bodies as diverse as the Assemblea de Docents (the most awkward of the awkward teaching squads), the Chamber of Commerce, the university and the federation of parents' associations. It is its document that was being signed and it is its document that will now form the basis for legislation to hopefully achieve the seemingly unachievable: once-and-for-all consensus as to the model of Balearic education.
The context for all this, if it needs restating, can be defined as the seven years from 2008 to 2015, a period during which the Castellano language was booted into the long grass of educational instruction, was left there as an endangered species and then revived on the back of the calamitous trilingual teaching project. Two governments with very differing ideologies had conspired in attempting to make the standard of Balearic public education worse than it was by their linguistic tunnel visions.
But as there is now a government similar in hue to that of 2008, why should there be any belief that history isn't simply repeating itself? Catalanism has arguably never had it so good as it currently does. However, there are those - notably the representatives from Illes per un Pacte - who are placing the emphasis where it should be and where it should have been for years: on addressing what is one of the highest rates of pupil failure in Spain. The emphasis is education in the round and not squabbling over the number of hours dedicated to teaching in which language.
This might be the hope but there is a long way to go in genuinely arriving at a grand pact that might legitimately be said to be consensual and which will be, as education minister March observed, without "rhetorical declarations, empty words and simple slogans" and will be based on "scientific facts" and basic points for educational improvement.
Until there is full disclosure of what this grand pact does actually entail, the propagandists are filling their boots in giving their interpretations. One has it that this pact is something born out of extreme left ideology that wouldn't have been out of place in Pol Pot's intellectual genocide in Cambodia. This, one fancies, is something of an exaggeration. Indeed, the leftist orientation of the pact has been queried by Podemos. One of the reasons it has not signed up is that it does not see a total rejection of the despised LOMCE, the national government's school curriculum for, supposedly, quality in education. Inherent to this, and crucially for Podemos, are LOMCE's non-secular aspects, as with the insistence on religious education. Podemos is squarely in the Crida green t-shirt camp: lay education and only lay education.
And inevitably, and much as Illes per un Pacte might not have been stressing this, there is the language issue. The pact, it is being suggested, will simply revert to the immersion in Catalan that was brought about in 2008. While schools will be given powers to decide on the use of language (which could include English if they want to), Catalan will have preferential treatment. Which is possibly how it should be. But a grand pact on education? Dream on.
Wednesday, March 09, 2016
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 9 March 2016
Morning high (7.56am): 7.8C
Forecast high: 15C; UV: 3
Three-day forecast: 10 March - Rain, 13C; 11 March - Sun, cloud, 13C; 12 March - Sun, cloud, 13C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): Variable 2 to 3 increasing West 4 to 5 during the morning.
Bright and sunny morning but the fine start is not due to last. An alert for rain today and tomorrow (high winds also tomorrow). Things set to improve on Friday.
Evening update (20.30): Filthy weather forecast for today has not materialised yet. May do overnight, and tomorrow, hold onto your hats, apparently.
Forecast high: 15C; UV: 3
Three-day forecast: 10 March - Rain, 13C; 11 March - Sun, cloud, 13C; 12 March - Sun, cloud, 13C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): Variable 2 to 3 increasing West 4 to 5 during the morning.
Bright and sunny morning but the fine start is not due to last. An alert for rain today and tomorrow (high winds also tomorrow). Things set to improve on Friday.
Evening update (20.30): Filthy weather forecast for today has not materialised yet. May do overnight, and tomorrow, hold onto your hats, apparently.
The Tourist Tax Carve-Up
The draft for the legislation for the Balearic sustainable tourism tax contains (pages 19 and 20) the six purposes for which its revenue is intended. There had originally been five, which were the ones that had been given prominence. They are: the conservation and modernisation of the natural, rural and marine environment; the promotion of means to deal with seasonality, tourism promotion and the development of infrastructure; the rehabilitation of cultural heritage; projects for research and development related to economic diversification and to the tourism sector; improvement in tourism sector training and quality of employment.
The sixth purpose, given altogether less prominence, is for investment in public service infrastructure, essential for compensating for the impact of tourism, especially social and health infrastructures. This item was appended late in the day. It crept in almost unannounced, but it is the item which is now central to the argument that has arisen regarding the use of tax revenue for investment in care homes for the elderly.
If you read through the list of purposes again, you will find that there is great scope for interpretation. The more specific and clearer purposes are for the likes of tourism promotion and tourism sector training. But others are far less specific. Take dealing with seasonality, for instance. The vagueness of this is such that it can be wrapped up in the mysterious item six. A justification for the use of revenue for care homes is that it will help to deal with seasonality. How is frankly beyond me.
The further justification lies with the compensating for the impact of tourism. This, it is argued, is because low pay in the tourism sector has meant that some of the elderly have been left without sufficient pensions or savings and so are therefore obliged to seek care in public residences. The argument is not wholly specious but it is selective. The tourism sector has of course got away with paying low wages, but so it has in every country in the world. It is, I'm afraid, the nature of the beast, whether I like it, you like it or politicians like it. And is tourism the only lowly paid sector of the economy? What about supermarkets and other retail outlets? Is there to be a sustainable retailing tax to raise revenues with a similar purpose in mind, i.e. compensating the elderly for the impact of commerce? What about some public sector jobs? Street cleaners, for instance. Is there to be a sustainable public sector tax? One could go on.
There is the distinct flavour of the "reductio ad absurdum" with the arguments to justify the use of tax revenue for care homes. And they don't have to end with the consequences of direct employment in the tourism sector. There would be no need for sustainable retailing or public sector taxes. Tourism uses supermarkets just as tourism likes the streets to be clean. Reductio ad absurdum.
Again, if you look at the list of purposes, there is an unwritten connection between them, and that is Més. The party controls the tourism ministry, the environment ministry, the ministry for culture and the social services ministry. The only other ministry which might be said to encroach into this list is Iago Negueruela's employment ministry. One says might. Negueruela is from PSOE.
Does one conclude from the list of purposes and ministerial responsibilities that the tourist tax is a Més tax and a Més carve-up? One might well draw such conclusions. PSOE has been the weak-willed bystander to all this, with the exception of Catalina Cladera eyeing up some millions to add to the annual budget. Otherwise it has been Podemos who have been the protagonists. As I've observed previously, Més has not taken kindly to Podemos interference and a usurping of natural Més territory, as with the natural territory of the environment or with the manmade territory of Mallorcan (Balearic) culture and heritage.
The care-homes plan is the one that has drawn the greatest gasps. Or has it? There was an online poll on the website of a local Spanish newspaper. Do you agree with the use of part of the revenue from the tax being used to finance residences? Seventy-one per cent said yes. If one assumes that this 71% is overwhelmingly Mallorcan, then who is anyone to challenge the favourable sentiment? But then, this is not sentiment coming from tourists (except when Mallorcans are obliged to also pay the tax for stays in tourist accommodation).
There again, tourists themselves are the least of the politicians' concerns, as various factions hover in unseemly fashion over the honeypot windfall of tourist tax revenue, each wanting their spoonfuls. In truth, it's pathetic, while if one believes in Machiavellianism, then the care-homes claim is all a negotiation ruse, one to be dropped in gaining total agreement (not yet arrived at) for priority to be given to environmental purposes.
The sixth purpose, given altogether less prominence, is for investment in public service infrastructure, essential for compensating for the impact of tourism, especially social and health infrastructures. This item was appended late in the day. It crept in almost unannounced, but it is the item which is now central to the argument that has arisen regarding the use of tax revenue for investment in care homes for the elderly.
If you read through the list of purposes again, you will find that there is great scope for interpretation. The more specific and clearer purposes are for the likes of tourism promotion and tourism sector training. But others are far less specific. Take dealing with seasonality, for instance. The vagueness of this is such that it can be wrapped up in the mysterious item six. A justification for the use of revenue for care homes is that it will help to deal with seasonality. How is frankly beyond me.
The further justification lies with the compensating for the impact of tourism. This, it is argued, is because low pay in the tourism sector has meant that some of the elderly have been left without sufficient pensions or savings and so are therefore obliged to seek care in public residences. The argument is not wholly specious but it is selective. The tourism sector has of course got away with paying low wages, but so it has in every country in the world. It is, I'm afraid, the nature of the beast, whether I like it, you like it or politicians like it. And is tourism the only lowly paid sector of the economy? What about supermarkets and other retail outlets? Is there to be a sustainable retailing tax to raise revenues with a similar purpose in mind, i.e. compensating the elderly for the impact of commerce? What about some public sector jobs? Street cleaners, for instance. Is there to be a sustainable public sector tax? One could go on.
There is the distinct flavour of the "reductio ad absurdum" with the arguments to justify the use of tax revenue for care homes. And they don't have to end with the consequences of direct employment in the tourism sector. There would be no need for sustainable retailing or public sector taxes. Tourism uses supermarkets just as tourism likes the streets to be clean. Reductio ad absurdum.
Again, if you look at the list of purposes, there is an unwritten connection between them, and that is Més. The party controls the tourism ministry, the environment ministry, the ministry for culture and the social services ministry. The only other ministry which might be said to encroach into this list is Iago Negueruela's employment ministry. One says might. Negueruela is from PSOE.
Does one conclude from the list of purposes and ministerial responsibilities that the tourist tax is a Més tax and a Més carve-up? One might well draw such conclusions. PSOE has been the weak-willed bystander to all this, with the exception of Catalina Cladera eyeing up some millions to add to the annual budget. Otherwise it has been Podemos who have been the protagonists. As I've observed previously, Més has not taken kindly to Podemos interference and a usurping of natural Més territory, as with the natural territory of the environment or with the manmade territory of Mallorcan (Balearic) culture and heritage.
The care-homes plan is the one that has drawn the greatest gasps. Or has it? There was an online poll on the website of a local Spanish newspaper. Do you agree with the use of part of the revenue from the tax being used to finance residences? Seventy-one per cent said yes. If one assumes that this 71% is overwhelmingly Mallorcan, then who is anyone to challenge the favourable sentiment? But then, this is not sentiment coming from tourists (except when Mallorcans are obliged to also pay the tax for stays in tourist accommodation).
There again, tourists themselves are the least of the politicians' concerns, as various factions hover in unseemly fashion over the honeypot windfall of tourist tax revenue, each wanting their spoonfuls. In truth, it's pathetic, while if one believes in Machiavellianism, then the care-homes claim is all a negotiation ruse, one to be dropped in gaining total agreement (not yet arrived at) for priority to be given to environmental purposes.
Tuesday, March 08, 2016
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 8 March 2016
Morning high (8.00am): 9.3C
Forecast high: 13C; UV: 3
Three-day forecast: 9 March - Cloud, 15C; 10 March - Cloud, sun, 11C; 11 March - Sun, cloud, 12C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): North-Northeast 6 easing 4 to 5 during the afternoon.
Quite blowy, with an alert in place for poor coastal conditions. Some sunny spells through the day. The odd shower possible, though rain more likely on Wednesday.
Evening update (21.00): Cold old north wind. Some sun. Not a lot. High of 12.9C.
Forecast high: 13C; UV: 3
Three-day forecast: 9 March - Cloud, 15C; 10 March - Cloud, sun, 11C; 11 March - Sun, cloud, 12C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): North-Northeast 6 easing 4 to 5 during the afternoon.
Quite blowy, with an alert in place for poor coastal conditions. Some sunny spells through the day. The odd shower possible, though rain more likely on Wednesday.
Evening update (21.00): Cold old north wind. Some sun. Not a lot. High of 12.9C.
Spain's Government: What Now?
Among the numerous party leaders and spokespeople who had their say in the investiture debate last Friday, there was one who would have been largely unknown, not just to anyone from outside Spain but to many within it. This was Iñigo Alli. He was speaking for the Unión del Pueblo Navarro, a regional party that has two deputies in Congress. Alli's intervention would not have been considered important, but amid the fractiousness of the occasion his words were measured and telling. He concluded by observing that over a period of 75 days the main political parties had been incapable of arriving at a solution for government. He urged them to now conduct themselves with humility and generosity in seeking such a solution. They were words that could have been spoken by millions who have no wish for an election re-run and who are growing weary of this very incapability.
There is no denying that the election on 20 December brought about massive upheaval. A PSOE spokesperson in Mallorca, Cosme Bonet, has rightly noted that the consequence of the vote in December requires a new form of analysis: the established way and order was cast asunder five days before Christmas. It was perhaps too much to anticipate that 75 days would be sufficient to arrive at this new analysis. But the question then arises as to how long should be sufficient. If no accord is reached by the start of May, there will be a further hiatus of 54 days before a new election, and it would hold no guarantee of any significant voting change or of creating the means for there to be accord. For month after endless month Spain would be under limbo-government with a nominal administration and an equally nominal opposition.
Faced with this absurdity, humility and generosity are indeed needed. But a pact with such saintly virtues seems as distant as it has been for the now four score days since the election. Given the positions stated and postures adopted during the investiture debates, there seems as if there can be only outcome. Notwithstanding the belief that accommodation can be made with Pedro Sánchez and Albert Rivera held by Mariano Rajoy, whose posturing was as unseemly as anyone's and was an affront to the post that he occupies, neither PSOE nor Ciudadanos (C's) appear inclined to wish to make such accommodation. The only game left in town - for Sánchez - is Podemos.
When the press provide, as they have been for several weeks, their graphics of how different pact permutations would look, these gloss over the enormous complexities of the 20 December upheaval. The media, both in Spain and overseas, can oversimplify a situation that is vastly more nuanced than is suggested by adjectives applied to political parties. In this facile framework, Podemos is constantly referred to as "anti-austerity". It is, but the very use of this discards everything else that it represents. It isn't totally meaningless, but if there were to be simplistic adjectival usage for each party, then why are the C's not given the adjective anti-Catalonian independence? This is a policy every bit as central to the C's narrative as the dismantling of austerity economics is to Podemos.
The Catalonia question is just one that hovers in a Damocles fashion above those who would be in power, an ever-presence prepared to strike and cut limbs from a body for government being crafted like some Frankenstein's monster. Pablo Iglesias of Podemos referred to there being no monsters in his ranks, but there are several monsters of policy constantly poised to render a beast of governmental agreement lifeless. The invective directed at Rivera and the C's over the Catalonia question cannot suddenly be forgotten or forgiven.
PSOE, the C's and Podemos need each other, but they will be unable to arrive at a deal unless there is some humility and generosity. An accord with Sánchez is not impossible - Podemos acolytes made that clear - but how might it come about? There may end up having to be some issues on which they will agree to disagree, such as Catalonia. Podemos hasn't got this far to now spurn the opportunity of influencing national policies, and so one suspects that there may well be a tripartite agreement similar to that which exists in the Balearics. Podemos would commit to a series of policies for a "government of change" but would stay out of the government as such.
Such an arrangement is not working wholly satisfactorily in the Balearics, but it was one which recognised that upheaval to the established way and order had occurred. It is one by which Podemos is not directly accountable or responsible for government, but under the new analysis that Bonet has called for, there is arguably something to commend it. Anything has to be better than the current state of non-government. Doesn't it?
There is no denying that the election on 20 December brought about massive upheaval. A PSOE spokesperson in Mallorca, Cosme Bonet, has rightly noted that the consequence of the vote in December requires a new form of analysis: the established way and order was cast asunder five days before Christmas. It was perhaps too much to anticipate that 75 days would be sufficient to arrive at this new analysis. But the question then arises as to how long should be sufficient. If no accord is reached by the start of May, there will be a further hiatus of 54 days before a new election, and it would hold no guarantee of any significant voting change or of creating the means for there to be accord. For month after endless month Spain would be under limbo-government with a nominal administration and an equally nominal opposition.
Faced with this absurdity, humility and generosity are indeed needed. But a pact with such saintly virtues seems as distant as it has been for the now four score days since the election. Given the positions stated and postures adopted during the investiture debates, there seems as if there can be only outcome. Notwithstanding the belief that accommodation can be made with Pedro Sánchez and Albert Rivera held by Mariano Rajoy, whose posturing was as unseemly as anyone's and was an affront to the post that he occupies, neither PSOE nor Ciudadanos (C's) appear inclined to wish to make such accommodation. The only game left in town - for Sánchez - is Podemos.
When the press provide, as they have been for several weeks, their graphics of how different pact permutations would look, these gloss over the enormous complexities of the 20 December upheaval. The media, both in Spain and overseas, can oversimplify a situation that is vastly more nuanced than is suggested by adjectives applied to political parties. In this facile framework, Podemos is constantly referred to as "anti-austerity". It is, but the very use of this discards everything else that it represents. It isn't totally meaningless, but if there were to be simplistic adjectival usage for each party, then why are the C's not given the adjective anti-Catalonian independence? This is a policy every bit as central to the C's narrative as the dismantling of austerity economics is to Podemos.
The Catalonia question is just one that hovers in a Damocles fashion above those who would be in power, an ever-presence prepared to strike and cut limbs from a body for government being crafted like some Frankenstein's monster. Pablo Iglesias of Podemos referred to there being no monsters in his ranks, but there are several monsters of policy constantly poised to render a beast of governmental agreement lifeless. The invective directed at Rivera and the C's over the Catalonia question cannot suddenly be forgotten or forgiven.
PSOE, the C's and Podemos need each other, but they will be unable to arrive at a deal unless there is some humility and generosity. An accord with Sánchez is not impossible - Podemos acolytes made that clear - but how might it come about? There may end up having to be some issues on which they will agree to disagree, such as Catalonia. Podemos hasn't got this far to now spurn the opportunity of influencing national policies, and so one suspects that there may well be a tripartite agreement similar to that which exists in the Balearics. Podemos would commit to a series of policies for a "government of change" but would stay out of the government as such.
Such an arrangement is not working wholly satisfactorily in the Balearics, but it was one which recognised that upheaval to the established way and order had occurred. It is one by which Podemos is not directly accountable or responsible for government, but under the new analysis that Bonet has called for, there is arguably something to commend it. Anything has to be better than the current state of non-government. Doesn't it?
Monday, March 07, 2016
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 7 March 2016
Morning high (8.10am): 9.1C
Forecast high: 14C; UV: 3
Three-day forecast: 8 March - Cloud, sun, 13C; 9 March - Cloud, 13C; 10 March - Cloud, 12C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): West 3 to 5, easing Variable 2 to 3 late in the day.
A better morning than yesterday. Fairly bright, some light cloud. Staying like this during the day, with light breezes.
Evening update (20.30): High of 16.3C. Some sunny breaks but mainly cloudy.
Forecast high: 14C; UV: 3
Three-day forecast: 8 March - Cloud, sun, 13C; 9 March - Cloud, 13C; 10 March - Cloud, 12C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): West 3 to 5, easing Variable 2 to 3 late in the day.
A better morning than yesterday. Fairly bright, some light cloud. Staying like this during the day, with light breezes.
Evening update (20.30): High of 16.3C. Some sunny breaks but mainly cloudy.
Woolworth In Palma
In August 1965, "The New York Times" ran a short news report in its business section. It read: "The F. W. Woolworth Co., which operates the country's largest chain of variety stores, announced Wednesday that it would open a store chain in Spain and also import Spanish-made goods for sale in its stores in the United States, Canada and elsewhere. Robert C. Kirkwood, chairman, said Woolworth had obtained approval from the Spanish government to form a wholly owned subsidiary in Spain for both ventures. The plan is still in a formulative (sic) stage, so few details are available, another Woolworth executive said. Woolworth's decision to enter the Spanish market resulted from the company's studies and surveys of foreign markets, Kirkwood said."
Robert Kirkwood has gone down in retail history as one of the great CEOs and visionaries. Five years before this announcement, he had issued a warning to the UK Woolworth company. Despite the fact that it was then the second largest stock on the London Stock Exchange (only ICI was bigger), Kirkwood could sense where retailing was heading. The UK management mostly ignored him. The seeds of failure that took fifty years to grow into one of the most spectacular business collapses ever had been sown then. Inept and conservative management was to destroy Woolies.
But Kirkwood didn't necessarily get everything right. Almost five years after the announcement, Woolworth stores began to open in Spain. There were to be grand shops in Madrid, Santander, Alicante, Malaga, Granada, Cordoba and Palma. In 1972, what had been Granja Reus - founded by Gabriel Reus in 1935 - became Woolworth. It was located where Jaime III becomes Unión by the Plaza Juan Carlos I, then known as Plaza Pio XII, at the top of the Borne. Today, the store is C&A.
Eight years after it had opened, it was to close, as were the other Woolworth stores in Spain. In August 1980, "El País" had reported that the future of the 565 Woolworth employees in Spain were under threat because of the "serious financial crisis" that the Spanish company faced. Workers, said the UGT union, were putting this down to "poor management". A few weeks later, at the start of October, "El País" carried the news of the closure. Agreements had been reached to pay off staff and they would cost the company more than two hundred million pesetas. The serious crisis that the stores had faced amounted to debts of 150 million pesetas in unpaid rent, a debt to Banesto bank of 110 million pesetas and a further twenty million in unpaid invoices. These were a lot of millions, though at the rate of exchange when the peseta eventually became the euro, the debt was equivalent to almost 1.7 million euros. But that was in 1980.
What went so wrong? Was it a case, similar to the UK, of poor management, as the workforce suggested? Was there some resistance to what was the first major foreign retailer? As far as this was concerned, it doesn't appear to have been. In the Palma store, the whole island flocked in. They loved Woolworth, but it may have had more to do with the fact that it was the first store to have escalators. People would come to ride them. They didn't always spend money.
But actually they did. In the first financial year from when the Palma store opened and until 1975, the Woolworth operation in Spain recorded profits of getting on for some 100 million pesetas. After 1975, however, the rot set in. That year may just give a clue. Woolworth, never exactly known for being upmarket, may well have appealed to a still Franco-era Mallorca and Spain. Yet it would have appealed only so much. There was already a demand for elegance in clothing that Woolworth may not have been able to satisfy. With political change would have come greater demand for liberated and new design, while the Woolworth store in Palma had suddenly been confronted by a competitor. In October 1974, just a short distance away on Jaime III, the grand Spanish department store, Galerias Preciados, opened. (It was to become El Corte Inglés some twenty years later.)
Product ranges that weren't, so I've been told, terribly interesting or exciting, the arrival of competitors, the changes in society. They probably all conspired to create the debt that was to finally devour Woolworth. Kirkwood had misread the signs and the market surveys. After the Palma store closed, it was to be three years - 1983 - before C&A moved in.
Robert Kirkwood has gone down in retail history as one of the great CEOs and visionaries. Five years before this announcement, he had issued a warning to the UK Woolworth company. Despite the fact that it was then the second largest stock on the London Stock Exchange (only ICI was bigger), Kirkwood could sense where retailing was heading. The UK management mostly ignored him. The seeds of failure that took fifty years to grow into one of the most spectacular business collapses ever had been sown then. Inept and conservative management was to destroy Woolies.
But Kirkwood didn't necessarily get everything right. Almost five years after the announcement, Woolworth stores began to open in Spain. There were to be grand shops in Madrid, Santander, Alicante, Malaga, Granada, Cordoba and Palma. In 1972, what had been Granja Reus - founded by Gabriel Reus in 1935 - became Woolworth. It was located where Jaime III becomes Unión by the Plaza Juan Carlos I, then known as Plaza Pio XII, at the top of the Borne. Today, the store is C&A.
Eight years after it had opened, it was to close, as were the other Woolworth stores in Spain. In August 1980, "El País" had reported that the future of the 565 Woolworth employees in Spain were under threat because of the "serious financial crisis" that the Spanish company faced. Workers, said the UGT union, were putting this down to "poor management". A few weeks later, at the start of October, "El País" carried the news of the closure. Agreements had been reached to pay off staff and they would cost the company more than two hundred million pesetas. The serious crisis that the stores had faced amounted to debts of 150 million pesetas in unpaid rent, a debt to Banesto bank of 110 million pesetas and a further twenty million in unpaid invoices. These were a lot of millions, though at the rate of exchange when the peseta eventually became the euro, the debt was equivalent to almost 1.7 million euros. But that was in 1980.
What went so wrong? Was it a case, similar to the UK, of poor management, as the workforce suggested? Was there some resistance to what was the first major foreign retailer? As far as this was concerned, it doesn't appear to have been. In the Palma store, the whole island flocked in. They loved Woolworth, but it may have had more to do with the fact that it was the first store to have escalators. People would come to ride them. They didn't always spend money.
But actually they did. In the first financial year from when the Palma store opened and until 1975, the Woolworth operation in Spain recorded profits of getting on for some 100 million pesetas. After 1975, however, the rot set in. That year may just give a clue. Woolworth, never exactly known for being upmarket, may well have appealed to a still Franco-era Mallorca and Spain. Yet it would have appealed only so much. There was already a demand for elegance in clothing that Woolworth may not have been able to satisfy. With political change would have come greater demand for liberated and new design, while the Woolworth store in Palma had suddenly been confronted by a competitor. In October 1974, just a short distance away on Jaime III, the grand Spanish department store, Galerias Preciados, opened. (It was to become El Corte Inglés some twenty years later.)
Product ranges that weren't, so I've been told, terribly interesting or exciting, the arrival of competitors, the changes in society. They probably all conspired to create the debt that was to finally devour Woolworth. Kirkwood had misread the signs and the market surveys. After the Palma store closed, it was to be three years - 1983 - before C&A moved in.
Sunday, March 06, 2016
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 6 March 2016
Morning high (8.26am): 10.1C
Forecast high: 13C; UV: 3
Three-day forecast: 7 March - Cloud, 15C; 8 March - Sun, cloud, 11C; 9 March - Cloud, 13C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): Northeast 3 to 5 veering Southwest 2 to 4 by evening.
Some storm rumbling away though not doing much, unlike last night when there was an absolute drenching. Mainly cloudy today, with rain probable and not particularly warm.
Evening update (20.00): Rain was indeed probable: there was a massive hailstorm this morning and then some further showers. High of 13C. Now down to around seven degrees.
Forecast high: 13C; UV: 3
Three-day forecast: 7 March - Cloud, 15C; 8 March - Sun, cloud, 11C; 9 March - Cloud, 13C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): Northeast 3 to 5 veering Southwest 2 to 4 by evening.
Some storm rumbling away though not doing much, unlike last night when there was an absolute drenching. Mainly cloudy today, with rain probable and not particularly warm.
Evening update (20.00): Rain was indeed probable: there was a massive hailstorm this morning and then some further showers. High of 13C. Now down to around seven degrees.
Spanish Parliament For Beginners
"Bottom ... Doo-Doo ... I'madick ..." These "names" come from one of Rowan Atkinson's master-calling-the-register sketches. It's strange what you think of when observing Spain's parliamentarians at play. Once, twice and eventually three and possibly four times a malady of investiture failure. And the climax is when the speaker and his helpers read out the names of every single one of the 350 deputies in Congress and every single one of them has to rise and say "sí" or "no". They did so twice. 219 no, 130 yes, only for the 130 to become 131 at the second time of asking: the lady from the Canaries saying she would go sí was met with a nod of thanks from the boy Pedro.
Bottom, Doo-Doo, I'madick and all the others rose twice and sat down twice. But oh that the names were that simple. The person one felt most sorry for was the recorder, typing away furiously. The names would come up on screen. At various points he or she gave up. Well, you would when some names could occupy a small novel on their own.
Highlights? Too many to mention. The boy Pedro lambasted Mazza and the PP for all the corruption. Mazza responded by suggesting that the attempt at investiture was in itself corrupt. PSOE's Antonio Hernando, supposedly having the last word after the interminable speeches by all the party representatives, said it wasn't corruption if the King has called for the investiture attempt. It was then that it all kicked off, another Hernando (a PP one) demanding a right of reply to the first Hernando for having challenged Rajoy's corruption jibe that had come about because of what the boy Pedro had said. Patxi, the speaker (whose a bloke by the way) started to lose control, as a fellow from Ciudadanos (C's) demanded the right of reply to a geezer called Rufián (yes really, Ruffian) from some Catalonian Republican-commie party who'd said that the C's had not condemned Franco. Then there was Ruffian's mate, cast in the classic role of veteran, battling commie who demanded a further right of reply for some reason. This chap, Joan Tarda, is very much of the old school, an Eric Heffer in a Spanish style, meaning lots of grey hair and a heavy moustache.
By now, everyone had forgotten that The Hairy One had seemingly stretched out a hand of rapprochement to the boy Pedro or that Al Rivera of the C's had indulged in a display of goading and being goaded that had made him appear like an obnoxious twerp. Patxi was reduced to Spanish for Beginners 101. There was a great deal of "hombre", "tranquilo", "vamos a ver". And when they did finally vamos a ver, the result the second time round was almost identical to the first vote. Everyone knew it would be, which made the second time of asking even more pointless than the first had been. But it wasn't totally pointless. Why? Because it showed that the chances of this lot - all 350 of them - ever reaching some agreement over the next prime minister (president) is as likely as Princess Cristina having gone before the court and declaring that it was a fair cop but society was to blame.
Bottom, Doo-Doo, I'madick and all the others rose twice and sat down twice. But oh that the names were that simple. The person one felt most sorry for was the recorder, typing away furiously. The names would come up on screen. At various points he or she gave up. Well, you would when some names could occupy a small novel on their own.
Highlights? Too many to mention. The boy Pedro lambasted Mazza and the PP for all the corruption. Mazza responded by suggesting that the attempt at investiture was in itself corrupt. PSOE's Antonio Hernando, supposedly having the last word after the interminable speeches by all the party representatives, said it wasn't corruption if the King has called for the investiture attempt. It was then that it all kicked off, another Hernando (a PP one) demanding a right of reply to the first Hernando for having challenged Rajoy's corruption jibe that had come about because of what the boy Pedro had said. Patxi, the speaker (whose a bloke by the way) started to lose control, as a fellow from Ciudadanos (C's) demanded the right of reply to a geezer called Rufián (yes really, Ruffian) from some Catalonian Republican-commie party who'd said that the C's had not condemned Franco. Then there was Ruffian's mate, cast in the classic role of veteran, battling commie who demanded a further right of reply for some reason. This chap, Joan Tarda, is very much of the old school, an Eric Heffer in a Spanish style, meaning lots of grey hair and a heavy moustache.
By now, everyone had forgotten that The Hairy One had seemingly stretched out a hand of rapprochement to the boy Pedro or that Al Rivera of the C's had indulged in a display of goading and being goaded that had made him appear like an obnoxious twerp. Patxi was reduced to Spanish for Beginners 101. There was a great deal of "hombre", "tranquilo", "vamos a ver". And when they did finally vamos a ver, the result the second time round was almost identical to the first vote. Everyone knew it would be, which made the second time of asking even more pointless than the first had been. But it wasn't totally pointless. Why? Because it showed that the chances of this lot - all 350 of them - ever reaching some agreement over the next prime minister (president) is as likely as Princess Cristina having gone before the court and declaring that it was a fair cop but society was to blame.
Saturday, March 05, 2016
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 5 March 2016
Morning high (8.16am): 12.4C
Forecast high: 16C; UV: 3
Three-day forecast: 6 March - Cloud, 13C; 7 March - Cloud, 13C; 8 March - Cloud, 11C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): Northwest 5 to 6 backing Southwest 4 to 5 by the evening.
Probably an idea to make the most of today. Next few days looking chilly and occasionally damp as a cold front tracks across from the mainland.
Evening update (24.00): What had been a fine day is ending with a storm: that'll be the cold air pushing in. High of 17.1C.
Forecast high: 16C; UV: 3
Three-day forecast: 6 March - Cloud, 13C; 7 March - Cloud, 13C; 8 March - Cloud, 11C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): Northwest 5 to 6 backing Southwest 4 to 5 by the evening.
Probably an idea to make the most of today. Next few days looking chilly and occasionally damp as a cold front tracks across from the mainland.
Evening update (24.00): What had been a fine day is ending with a storm: that'll be the cold air pushing in. High of 17.1C.
Holiday Rentals: The Right Noises On Consensus
Regulation on holiday rentals can be expected within six months. This is what the Balearic parliament agreed on Wednesday, and they agreed without dissent. That it was the Partido Popular which made the proposal was not grounds for opposition. The PP has seen the light and the need for regulation; something that did not shine when the party was in power.
Knowing what this regulation might entail is anyone's guess. It will almost certainly offer owners of apartments the opportunity to finally be able to market properties as tourist accommodation in an open and legal fashion, but what might the attached strings be? We have previously heard that the government is considering some form of zoning system by which rental accommodation would be confined to specific parts of towns or resorts; this is certainly what is wanted for Palma. Other than this, there have been precious few hints, other than that - inevitably for this government - there will be attempts at consensus with all involved.
By this, it principally means the involvement of business, relevant associations and federations (Aptur, the tourist properties association, and the Mallorca Hoteliers Federation, as examples), town halls and others. What of, however, owners themselves, ones not represented by Aptur? And not just owners who might wish to rent out properties as holiday lets. There are the other owners to consider. Are there not? How far does consensus go? In a democratic sense, communities (i.e. for apartment blocks) should be able to decide whether there are tourist rentals or not on the basis of a simple majority. Some would be happy with the outcome, others not, and it would depend which way the vote went. But over and above this are the rights of an individual owner, regardless of neighbours. This seems to be at least one of the angles being taken by Més. Toni Reus, knowledgeable of matters in Can Picafort from his time as mayor of Santa Margalida and still a councillor as well as a parliamentary deputy, has spoken again of the "human right" to rent out without obstruction and so allow owners to derive legitimate additional income.
There is a great deal for the government to consider, and one trusts that the tourism ministry (along with the tax agency) have already been preparing the ground. Drafting, debating and approving regulation within six months is a tight schedule otherwise. And given how the tourist tax has provoked such argument among the so-called partners in government, one shouldn't rule out there being a repeat with holiday rentals.
An interesting aspect of the consensus that is to be sought is the emphasis apparently to be placed on involving online agencies. Which ones remains to be seen, but if the government is wanting to bring the likes of Airbnb into the discussions, then this would be a very sensible move. Whether administrations like it or not, they need to work with the internet suppliers and recognise how the market has changed since Airbnb and others made their presence felt. At present, these administrations prefer to seek legal action or issue fines (as has been the case in Barcelona). It is preferable to make these businesses part of the solution and not keep them on the outside as the problem. So if it is the government's intention to involve them, then the government should be applauded.
The PP had also proposed that tourist tax implementation should be delayed until the holiday rentals legislation is in place. The government was, of course, never likely to support this, and it didn't. But there is a curious situation unfolding whereby, on the one hand, the government may be moving towards a more liberalised market and, on the other, it is in discussion with the national finance ministry (and so the Hacienda) to look at how much tougher it can get.
The word coming out of the regional tourism ministry is that it is determined to track down properties that are being rented out (and not just apartments) with payment in black. But we have heard this before. The fact is that, although the ministry may therefore be more determined to get its inspectors out and about, it doesn't have that many inspectors. And these same inspectors will also be expected to undertake tasks such as checking on hotels and bars. One can possibly anticipate there being the announcement of a campaign some time during the season which involves additional inspectors being brought in from the mainland. The government did something similar in checking employment contracts and working conditions last summer by adding numbers to its employment ministry inspectorate.
Fundamentally, though, if the government wishes to get tough and show it is getting tough, it will want some good examples. Rather than single owners, the emphasis will surely be on the organised operators, which can take in vast sums and pay nothing by way of tax. And if these are indeed to be the prime targets, then the government should once more be applauded.
Another ingredient that the government may wish to take account of comes courtesy of the "Defensor del Pueblo", the Ombudsman. In the annual report, the office of the Ombudsman admonishes administrations for the "unreasonable" ways in which they have curtailed the freedom of individuals to offer properties for tourist rental. The report draws attention, for instance, to a six thousand euro fine issued by the Catalonian government to an owner who had not made the proper declaration of being the "accountable" person responsible for the property. It also directs comments towards the Balearics in opining that there appear not to be "public interest reasons" for the current legislation as it applies in the Balearics.
Knowing what this regulation might entail is anyone's guess. It will almost certainly offer owners of apartments the opportunity to finally be able to market properties as tourist accommodation in an open and legal fashion, but what might the attached strings be? We have previously heard that the government is considering some form of zoning system by which rental accommodation would be confined to specific parts of towns or resorts; this is certainly what is wanted for Palma. Other than this, there have been precious few hints, other than that - inevitably for this government - there will be attempts at consensus with all involved.
By this, it principally means the involvement of business, relevant associations and federations (Aptur, the tourist properties association, and the Mallorca Hoteliers Federation, as examples), town halls and others. What of, however, owners themselves, ones not represented by Aptur? And not just owners who might wish to rent out properties as holiday lets. There are the other owners to consider. Are there not? How far does consensus go? In a democratic sense, communities (i.e. for apartment blocks) should be able to decide whether there are tourist rentals or not on the basis of a simple majority. Some would be happy with the outcome, others not, and it would depend which way the vote went. But over and above this are the rights of an individual owner, regardless of neighbours. This seems to be at least one of the angles being taken by Més. Toni Reus, knowledgeable of matters in Can Picafort from his time as mayor of Santa Margalida and still a councillor as well as a parliamentary deputy, has spoken again of the "human right" to rent out without obstruction and so allow owners to derive legitimate additional income.
There is a great deal for the government to consider, and one trusts that the tourism ministry (along with the tax agency) have already been preparing the ground. Drafting, debating and approving regulation within six months is a tight schedule otherwise. And given how the tourist tax has provoked such argument among the so-called partners in government, one shouldn't rule out there being a repeat with holiday rentals.
An interesting aspect of the consensus that is to be sought is the emphasis apparently to be placed on involving online agencies. Which ones remains to be seen, but if the government is wanting to bring the likes of Airbnb into the discussions, then this would be a very sensible move. Whether administrations like it or not, they need to work with the internet suppliers and recognise how the market has changed since Airbnb and others made their presence felt. At present, these administrations prefer to seek legal action or issue fines (as has been the case in Barcelona). It is preferable to make these businesses part of the solution and not keep them on the outside as the problem. So if it is the government's intention to involve them, then the government should be applauded.
The PP had also proposed that tourist tax implementation should be delayed until the holiday rentals legislation is in place. The government was, of course, never likely to support this, and it didn't. But there is a curious situation unfolding whereby, on the one hand, the government may be moving towards a more liberalised market and, on the other, it is in discussion with the national finance ministry (and so the Hacienda) to look at how much tougher it can get.
The word coming out of the regional tourism ministry is that it is determined to track down properties that are being rented out (and not just apartments) with payment in black. But we have heard this before. The fact is that, although the ministry may therefore be more determined to get its inspectors out and about, it doesn't have that many inspectors. And these same inspectors will also be expected to undertake tasks such as checking on hotels and bars. One can possibly anticipate there being the announcement of a campaign some time during the season which involves additional inspectors being brought in from the mainland. The government did something similar in checking employment contracts and working conditions last summer by adding numbers to its employment ministry inspectorate.
Fundamentally, though, if the government wishes to get tough and show it is getting tough, it will want some good examples. Rather than single owners, the emphasis will surely be on the organised operators, which can take in vast sums and pay nothing by way of tax. And if these are indeed to be the prime targets, then the government should once more be applauded.
Another ingredient that the government may wish to take account of comes courtesy of the "Defensor del Pueblo", the Ombudsman. In the annual report, the office of the Ombudsman admonishes administrations for the "unreasonable" ways in which they have curtailed the freedom of individuals to offer properties for tourist rental. The report draws attention, for instance, to a six thousand euro fine issued by the Catalonian government to an owner who had not made the proper declaration of being the "accountable" person responsible for the property. It also directs comments towards the Balearics in opining that there appear not to be "public interest reasons" for the current legislation as it applies in the Balearics.
Friday, March 04, 2016
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 4 March 2016
Morning high (7.42am): 8.5C
Forecast high: 20C; UV: 4
Three-day forecast: 5 March - Sun, cloud, 16C; 6 March - Cloud, 11C; 7 March - Cloud, 11C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): West-Southwest 3 to 4 increasing Southwest 4 to 5 by the evening.
Bright morning and a fairly warm day on the cards with stiffish southwesterlies bringing in the warming air. Change over the weekend, and due to be cold on Sunday.
Evening update (22.15): High of 19.8C. Quite sunny but breezy.
Forecast high: 20C; UV: 4
Three-day forecast: 5 March - Sun, cloud, 16C; 6 March - Cloud, 11C; 7 March - Cloud, 11C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): West-Southwest 3 to 4 increasing Southwest 4 to 5 by the evening.
Bright morning and a fairly warm day on the cards with stiffish southwesterlies bringing in the warming air. Change over the weekend, and due to be cold on Sunday.
Evening update (22.15): High of 19.8C. Quite sunny but breezy.
Spain In A Day: Insults and tedium
Multi-tasking you could call it, were it not for the fact that the task was singular. Multi-single tasking, if that isn't an oxymoron, which it probably is. The task was writing. So, nothing unusual in that regard. But it was a day - Wednesday - that demanded simultaneous tasking, a day that was unusual in that it projected onto screens, Twitter and multimedia for the multi-tasking the coalescing of great institutions. Parliament, not one but two, the judiciary and the monarchy. All that was missing was the church, though it, buried within the bile that was being belched in Congress, was a bystander on this day of multi-institutional exposure.
The tasks were these: keeping across debate in the Balearic parliament; keeping across the interrogation of the one-time Duke of Palma; keeping across the debate (the wrong word) on the investiture of Pedro Sánchez. Of these, the first was uncommonly civilised and meaningful in that a key subject was of broad interest. On too many occasions, the Balearic parliament peers deep into its rectum and plucks out arguments that are of no interest other than to parliament itself.
The subject was holiday rentals. For once, parliament was capable of arriving at unanimity - consensus in today's politically correct parlance. It agreed that regulation should be introduced within six months. The unstated message was why it had been taking the government so long to pull its finger out on a subject of infinitely greater importance than the wretched tourist tax. There are times, perhaps, when messages need not to be stated. Let's just all agree to agree and get on with it.
The normal state of dysfunctionality of the Balearic parliament - puerile debate, childish remarks, egotistical posturing - was momentarily cast into the background. It was the national parliament, the Congress of the Cortes, that was to borrow what is usually the normality of Palma's institution. Borrow and graft on insults and observations that should play no part in the most important of institutional processes - the confirmation or otherwise of His Majesty's principal political officer.
It has occurred on more than one occasion that current-day Spain is in a constant state of historical regurgitation. And here was an occasion which confirmed this. While minor parties had their digs, and these included aspirations of independence for Catalonia and the Basques, there was Pablo Iglesias of Podemos, a party that is highly contemporary and yet a relic of the past. How can it be anything other than when references can be made to the Civil War and to the dark fight with ETA terrorism in the early 1980s? Iglesias's dredging up of the murder of two ETA terrorists in 1983 was reprehensible, an utterly uncalled-for stick with which to beat Pedro Sánchez. The murders were themselves appalling, but Iglesias should remember the context. Spain was still in turmoil, with ETA at the centre of this. A year before there had been another coup attempt (covered up) which had sought to deprive Felipe Gónzalez and PSOE the government it deserved. All that Iglesias succeeded in doing was to trigger suspicions that Podemos is not wholly without ETA sympathies.
The debate, which wasn't a debate just an excuse for pathetic trading in insults, was always destined to be a charade. Sánchez had no hope of winning. I had written the introductory paragraph long before the vote was taken; all that was needed was slight tweaking. Mariano Rajoy, as malicious and small-minded as Iglesias in his abuse, suggested that the King hadn't been fooled, and thus managed to suggest that the King had been fooled. The monarch should have been left out of this disgraceful exercise in his name, but this couldn't have been avoided. The King had given Sánchez his blessing to attempt to form a government. Well, someone has to try.
Inadvertently, Wednesday became a bad day for the monarchy. In the court in Palma, the ex-Duke of Palma was subject to the questioning of Pedro Horrach. Of the three tasks this was by far the most tedious. Listening to Horrach deliver questions as though he is an aloof maths teacher, listening to Urdangarin's monotonous replies, the best that one could say that it was at least civilised, albeit that the presiding judge had to rebuke Horrach for constantly asking about invoices. Rebuke? What for? Aren't the invoices crucial to the whole case?
But it was the fact that the Royal Household was supposedly overseeing all that went on at Nóos made it a bad day for the monarchy: Congress and its antics just confirmed this.
It was a curious day of multi-single tasking. A day when the institutions of Congress and monarchy seemed to be unravelling and yet when the judiciary, with its prosecutor's forensic obsessions, and - most surprisingly of all - the Balearic parliament with its consensus came to the rescue. It was Spain in a day. Contrary and exhausting.
The tasks were these: keeping across debate in the Balearic parliament; keeping across the interrogation of the one-time Duke of Palma; keeping across the debate (the wrong word) on the investiture of Pedro Sánchez. Of these, the first was uncommonly civilised and meaningful in that a key subject was of broad interest. On too many occasions, the Balearic parliament peers deep into its rectum and plucks out arguments that are of no interest other than to parliament itself.
The subject was holiday rentals. For once, parliament was capable of arriving at unanimity - consensus in today's politically correct parlance. It agreed that regulation should be introduced within six months. The unstated message was why it had been taking the government so long to pull its finger out on a subject of infinitely greater importance than the wretched tourist tax. There are times, perhaps, when messages need not to be stated. Let's just all agree to agree and get on with it.
The normal state of dysfunctionality of the Balearic parliament - puerile debate, childish remarks, egotistical posturing - was momentarily cast into the background. It was the national parliament, the Congress of the Cortes, that was to borrow what is usually the normality of Palma's institution. Borrow and graft on insults and observations that should play no part in the most important of institutional processes - the confirmation or otherwise of His Majesty's principal political officer.
It has occurred on more than one occasion that current-day Spain is in a constant state of historical regurgitation. And here was an occasion which confirmed this. While minor parties had their digs, and these included aspirations of independence for Catalonia and the Basques, there was Pablo Iglesias of Podemos, a party that is highly contemporary and yet a relic of the past. How can it be anything other than when references can be made to the Civil War and to the dark fight with ETA terrorism in the early 1980s? Iglesias's dredging up of the murder of two ETA terrorists in 1983 was reprehensible, an utterly uncalled-for stick with which to beat Pedro Sánchez. The murders were themselves appalling, but Iglesias should remember the context. Spain was still in turmoil, with ETA at the centre of this. A year before there had been another coup attempt (covered up) which had sought to deprive Felipe Gónzalez and PSOE the government it deserved. All that Iglesias succeeded in doing was to trigger suspicions that Podemos is not wholly without ETA sympathies.
The debate, which wasn't a debate just an excuse for pathetic trading in insults, was always destined to be a charade. Sánchez had no hope of winning. I had written the introductory paragraph long before the vote was taken; all that was needed was slight tweaking. Mariano Rajoy, as malicious and small-minded as Iglesias in his abuse, suggested that the King hadn't been fooled, and thus managed to suggest that the King had been fooled. The monarch should have been left out of this disgraceful exercise in his name, but this couldn't have been avoided. The King had given Sánchez his blessing to attempt to form a government. Well, someone has to try.
Inadvertently, Wednesday became a bad day for the monarchy. In the court in Palma, the ex-Duke of Palma was subject to the questioning of Pedro Horrach. Of the three tasks this was by far the most tedious. Listening to Horrach deliver questions as though he is an aloof maths teacher, listening to Urdangarin's monotonous replies, the best that one could say that it was at least civilised, albeit that the presiding judge had to rebuke Horrach for constantly asking about invoices. Rebuke? What for? Aren't the invoices crucial to the whole case?
But it was the fact that the Royal Household was supposedly overseeing all that went on at Nóos made it a bad day for the monarchy: Congress and its antics just confirmed this.
It was a curious day of multi-single tasking. A day when the institutions of Congress and monarchy seemed to be unravelling and yet when the judiciary, with its prosecutor's forensic obsessions, and - most surprisingly of all - the Balearic parliament with its consensus came to the rescue. It was Spain in a day. Contrary and exhausting.
Thursday, March 03, 2016
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 3 March 2016
Morning high (7.16am): 12C
Forecast high: 16C; UV: 3
Three-day forecast: 4 March - Sun, cloud, 19C; 5 March - Cloud, 14C; 6 March - Cloud, 11C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): Northwest 4 to 5 locally 6.
Another decent day in prospect. Bit breezy though. Now looking a bit iffy over the weekend and into next week.
Evening update (20.45): Not bad. High of 16.7C.
Forecast high: 16C; UV: 3
Three-day forecast: 4 March - Sun, cloud, 19C; 5 March - Cloud, 14C; 6 March - Cloud, 11C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): Northwest 4 to 5 locally 6.
Another decent day in prospect. Bit breezy though. Now looking a bit iffy over the weekend and into next week.
Evening update (20.45): Not bad. High of 16.7C.
Expatophobia And Schadenfreude
It was a nice day on Tuesday. A very nice day. A public holiday. The sky was clear and the sun was shining. Some were working. I was. More on that below. But in an idle moment ... . There are few better ways to be idle and indulge the idleness of moments than being idle on Facebook. 'Tis the habitat of the idle. Where do people find time? I know. They don't work. I was glad they weren't on Tuesday. They had posted lots of nice photos. Pictures of blue skies. Blue seas. Sandy sand. Mountains with blue skies. Pools with blue in the background. Not a cloud to be seen. Right moment for a beer. Right moment for a cheeky sunbathe. Right moment for a touch of tapas. And there were the tapas. On a table set against a blue background.
As I stared into this wallpaper of blueness, I thought of some imaginary character in, oh I don't know, let's say it was Macclesfield. Nothing against Macclesfield. It was a place. Could have been anywhere. This character was labouring over some tedious spreadsheet calculations in a tedious office in a tedious street with the rain lashing down. Let's call him, I don't know, Bob. In an idle moment, Bob logged onto Facebook. Bob has a friend who goes to Mallorca. The friend had been sharing. Bob was looking at a wallpaper of blueness. Later, right on five o'clock, Bob grabbed his coat and braced himself for the rain that was still lashing down. An evening of pie and chips and "Eastenders" for Bob. An evening like most others. He watched the news. There was this report. From sunny Spain. In my imaginary Bob world, Bob was hearing about the plight of British foreign residents who might, some time later this year, be about to be turfed out of Spain. Bob watched with keen interest. Then he started to laugh. He laughed and laughed and laughed. Before going to bed, Bob went on Facebook. He found one of those photos of blueness. He didn't like. Instead, he fired off a comment. "Not for much longer. Ha ha ha. (Smiley emoticon)."
You could understand Bob being like this. All those photos taken by people doing nothing. Blue, blue and more blue. Serves 'em right. They turned their backs on lashing rain and tedium. Now it's going to be payback time. Here's my vote. Leave, leave, leave. Ha ha ha. That's stuffed you.
Britain. Land of birth and all that. Holder of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Passport. "Her Britannic Majesty's Secretary of State Requests and requires in the Name of Her Majesty all those whom it may concern to allow the bearer to pass freely without let or hindrance, and to afford the bearer such assistance and protection as may be necessary." Pass freely. Atop the bit on the front in gold lettering are the words "European Union". Here's something else they might not have thought about.
It seems like a war. A nation divided. A nation that is hostage to its past. Caught up, unwittingly, unwillingly and uncertainly, are the nation's foreign legion. So, it doesn't have the vote (some of it). Tough luck, sucker. You made the choice. The foreign legion is on the end of indifference allied with Expatophobia, an intense dislike of those who had escaped Macclesfield on a filthy day in March. The attitudes, the vitriol, the contempt expressed by some who appear content for the foreign legion to be the victims of war. Refugees. Where is the spirit of British tolerance, once famed and admired by those from Europe who sought their own refuge over many, many years, escaping the persecutions of religious and political wars and hatreds on the continent? Disappearing with the new-age era of hysterical intolerance fired from across the twenty miles that kept the nation safe but also enabled those fleeing intolerance to find safe haven. But amidst this intolerance is envy. That is what the Bobs feel, if they were to admit it. As they cannot, they delight in schadenfreude. An ironic sentiment, given that it is borrowed from another nation who some can never forgive for having supplanted the once great nation as a world industrial power and for having been the creators of the monster that grew to be Brussels. What's more they did it in collaboration with the French. How could they, the French? After all that was done for them.
But for Bob and the other Bobs, just to let you know. The foreign legion comes in different guises. There's blue and there's blue. Yes, I can look out at the blue and be thankful I can, but I work. Every single day. Just as others work every single day. And those who don't. Why should their retirements or lifestyles be denied them? Schadenfreude is a German word.
As I stared into this wallpaper of blueness, I thought of some imaginary character in, oh I don't know, let's say it was Macclesfield. Nothing against Macclesfield. It was a place. Could have been anywhere. This character was labouring over some tedious spreadsheet calculations in a tedious office in a tedious street with the rain lashing down. Let's call him, I don't know, Bob. In an idle moment, Bob logged onto Facebook. Bob has a friend who goes to Mallorca. The friend had been sharing. Bob was looking at a wallpaper of blueness. Later, right on five o'clock, Bob grabbed his coat and braced himself for the rain that was still lashing down. An evening of pie and chips and "Eastenders" for Bob. An evening like most others. He watched the news. There was this report. From sunny Spain. In my imaginary Bob world, Bob was hearing about the plight of British foreign residents who might, some time later this year, be about to be turfed out of Spain. Bob watched with keen interest. Then he started to laugh. He laughed and laughed and laughed. Before going to bed, Bob went on Facebook. He found one of those photos of blueness. He didn't like. Instead, he fired off a comment. "Not for much longer. Ha ha ha. (Smiley emoticon)."
You could understand Bob being like this. All those photos taken by people doing nothing. Blue, blue and more blue. Serves 'em right. They turned their backs on lashing rain and tedium. Now it's going to be payback time. Here's my vote. Leave, leave, leave. Ha ha ha. That's stuffed you.
Britain. Land of birth and all that. Holder of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Passport. "Her Britannic Majesty's Secretary of State Requests and requires in the Name of Her Majesty all those whom it may concern to allow the bearer to pass freely without let or hindrance, and to afford the bearer such assistance and protection as may be necessary." Pass freely. Atop the bit on the front in gold lettering are the words "European Union". Here's something else they might not have thought about.
It seems like a war. A nation divided. A nation that is hostage to its past. Caught up, unwittingly, unwillingly and uncertainly, are the nation's foreign legion. So, it doesn't have the vote (some of it). Tough luck, sucker. You made the choice. The foreign legion is on the end of indifference allied with Expatophobia, an intense dislike of those who had escaped Macclesfield on a filthy day in March. The attitudes, the vitriol, the contempt expressed by some who appear content for the foreign legion to be the victims of war. Refugees. Where is the spirit of British tolerance, once famed and admired by those from Europe who sought their own refuge over many, many years, escaping the persecutions of religious and political wars and hatreds on the continent? Disappearing with the new-age era of hysterical intolerance fired from across the twenty miles that kept the nation safe but also enabled those fleeing intolerance to find safe haven. But amidst this intolerance is envy. That is what the Bobs feel, if they were to admit it. As they cannot, they delight in schadenfreude. An ironic sentiment, given that it is borrowed from another nation who some can never forgive for having supplanted the once great nation as a world industrial power and for having been the creators of the monster that grew to be Brussels. What's more they did it in collaboration with the French. How could they, the French? After all that was done for them.
But for Bob and the other Bobs, just to let you know. The foreign legion comes in different guises. There's blue and there's blue. Yes, I can look out at the blue and be thankful I can, but I work. Every single day. Just as others work every single day. And those who don't. Why should their retirements or lifestyles be denied them? Schadenfreude is a German word.
Wednesday, March 02, 2016
MALLORCA TODAY - Weather Alcúdia and Pollensa 2 March 2016
Morning high (7.43am): 14.1C
Forecast high: 18C; UV: 4
Three-day forecast: 3 March - Sun, cloud, 16C; 4 March - Sun, cloud, 16C; 5 March - Sun, 14C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): West 3 to 5.
Decent morning. Sunny today but also pretty windy, with a yellow alert for coastal conditions that will last until tomorrow.
Evening update (20.30): Warm. High of 22.3C.
Forecast high: 18C; UV: 4
Three-day forecast: 3 March - Sun, cloud, 16C; 4 March - Sun, cloud, 16C; 5 March - Sun, 14C.
Sea conditions (northern Mallorca; Alcúdia and Pollensa bays to 20.00): West 3 to 5.
Decent morning. Sunny today but also pretty windy, with a yellow alert for coastal conditions that will last until tomorrow.
Evening update (20.30): Warm. High of 22.3C.
Is The Medical Faculty Really Needed?
They were handing out awards the other evening. While Hollywood was congratulating itself, in Mallorca there were congratulations for, among others, Real Mallorca - an award for longevity, one supposes.
These were the Ramon Llull prizes and Gold Medal. They are dished out each year to coincide with Balearics Day. Because it is the Balearics and not just Mallorca, there are awards for the other islands. The Ibiza university school of tourism and the Mahon Philharmonic got gongs as well. Good for them.
The highest award of this gala event at Palma's Teatre Principal was the Gold Medal. This is the award that carries the greatest distinction in the autonomous community that is the Balearics. It went to a doctor, Oriol Bonnín, who has devoted the past generation to being one of the islands' leading heart surgeons. Asked about the possibility (his name has been mentioned) of his becoming the first dean of the medical faculty at the University of the Balearic Islands, he said that there are those who are better prepared than he is for such a role.
That the medical faculty should crop up was inevitable. Might it, some years down the line, receive a Ramon Llull just like the Ibiza tourism school did the other evening? If the politicians have anything to do with it, then yes. The politicians who support it, that is. Because of Bonnin's standing in the medical profession, he was bound to have been asked the question. Though he seems less than interested in the post of dean, he is a strong supporter of the faculty. It is something which, on the surface, would seem to be politically neutral. Something that is a "good thing". So why is there the fuss over it that there is?
The faculty has long been called for. There are only two regions of the country that don't have one: La Rioja and the Balearics. For a region, the Balearics, with one of the country's finest public health hospitals, a strong reputation for health care in any event and ambitions for health tourism, the absence of kudos from a medical faculty can seem anachronistic. A medical faculty brings it with it greater prestige, higher levels of professionalism, more rigorous research. It also has great advantages for those undertaking medical studies. A medical school in Mallorca will mean not being obliged to study on the mainland, with the attendant additional costs for studying that this entails.
It had already been announced that a course in medical studies would be introduced for the 2016-2017 university year. Despite this, it wasn't until a few days ago that the regional government formally approved the creation of the faculty. Such apparent lateness, given that the course would begin in September, has been offset to some extent by the fact that a joint committee from the university and regional ministries of education and health have been paving the way for the course since last September.
Back in February, the government announced that half a million euros would be budgeted for something that won't require new facilities as it will be integrated into the medical teaching unit at Son Espases. But also in February, Podemos launched a major assault on the plan for the faculty. This wasn't because the party was against it but because it argued that it was neither an educational nor a health priority. In one of the more coherent cases that Podemos has put forward in challenging a government decision, the party argued that it would still be the case that students would need to move to the mainland because of the limited number of places, that there were other disciplines as deserving of their own faculties as medicine, that a whole host of major organisations have been advising against the necessity for more medical faculties in Spain and that the budget to be diverted towards it could be prejudicial to existing faculties and research at the university.
Above all, Podemos challenged the decision-making process that was to lead to the government's ultimate approval. Different options needed to have been presented with "transparency" and only once they were understood could a decision be taken. Essentially, it was arguing that the decision had come not from the education ministry but from the health ministry, and Podemos has had its issues with that ministry because of the alleged nepotism over the appointment of Juli Fuster as director-general of IB-Salut.
The budget for the initial course has since been increased by 100,000 euros, and the budget is just one source of what has become a row between Podemos and the government that is every bit as raw as the one over the tourist tax. Money should be devoted to primary care, scholarships and social needs, Podemos argues.
Is the faculty simply a prestige project for the government? For Podemos, it would seem that it is.
These were the Ramon Llull prizes and Gold Medal. They are dished out each year to coincide with Balearics Day. Because it is the Balearics and not just Mallorca, there are awards for the other islands. The Ibiza university school of tourism and the Mahon Philharmonic got gongs as well. Good for them.
The highest award of this gala event at Palma's Teatre Principal was the Gold Medal. This is the award that carries the greatest distinction in the autonomous community that is the Balearics. It went to a doctor, Oriol Bonnín, who has devoted the past generation to being one of the islands' leading heart surgeons. Asked about the possibility (his name has been mentioned) of his becoming the first dean of the medical faculty at the University of the Balearic Islands, he said that there are those who are better prepared than he is for such a role.
That the medical faculty should crop up was inevitable. Might it, some years down the line, receive a Ramon Llull just like the Ibiza tourism school did the other evening? If the politicians have anything to do with it, then yes. The politicians who support it, that is. Because of Bonnin's standing in the medical profession, he was bound to have been asked the question. Though he seems less than interested in the post of dean, he is a strong supporter of the faculty. It is something which, on the surface, would seem to be politically neutral. Something that is a "good thing". So why is there the fuss over it that there is?
The faculty has long been called for. There are only two regions of the country that don't have one: La Rioja and the Balearics. For a region, the Balearics, with one of the country's finest public health hospitals, a strong reputation for health care in any event and ambitions for health tourism, the absence of kudos from a medical faculty can seem anachronistic. A medical faculty brings it with it greater prestige, higher levels of professionalism, more rigorous research. It also has great advantages for those undertaking medical studies. A medical school in Mallorca will mean not being obliged to study on the mainland, with the attendant additional costs for studying that this entails.
It had already been announced that a course in medical studies would be introduced for the 2016-2017 university year. Despite this, it wasn't until a few days ago that the regional government formally approved the creation of the faculty. Such apparent lateness, given that the course would begin in September, has been offset to some extent by the fact that a joint committee from the university and regional ministries of education and health have been paving the way for the course since last September.
Back in February, the government announced that half a million euros would be budgeted for something that won't require new facilities as it will be integrated into the medical teaching unit at Son Espases. But also in February, Podemos launched a major assault on the plan for the faculty. This wasn't because the party was against it but because it argued that it was neither an educational nor a health priority. In one of the more coherent cases that Podemos has put forward in challenging a government decision, the party argued that it would still be the case that students would need to move to the mainland because of the limited number of places, that there were other disciplines as deserving of their own faculties as medicine, that a whole host of major organisations have been advising against the necessity for more medical faculties in Spain and that the budget to be diverted towards it could be prejudicial to existing faculties and research at the university.
Above all, Podemos challenged the decision-making process that was to lead to the government's ultimate approval. Different options needed to have been presented with "transparency" and only once they were understood could a decision be taken. Essentially, it was arguing that the decision had come not from the education ministry but from the health ministry, and Podemos has had its issues with that ministry because of the alleged nepotism over the appointment of Juli Fuster as director-general of IB-Salut.
The budget for the initial course has since been increased by 100,000 euros, and the budget is just one source of what has become a row between Podemos and the government that is every bit as raw as the one over the tourist tax. Money should be devoted to primary care, scholarships and social needs, Podemos argues.
Is the faculty simply a prestige project for the government? For Podemos, it would seem that it is.
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