Jason MoorePalma06/10/2018 16:43
TW

For many years now the Balearics has been involved in a major funding dispute with the central administration in Madrid. The Balearics pays far more in taxes than it receives in investmet from Madrid. This is quite a thorny issue with some regions: one of the main fighting points for the Catalan drive for independence is the poor funding deal they get from Madrid. The Balearic government has said that one of the reasons why it introduced the controversial tourist tax was because of the funding issue. The local government has been quite vocal over this issue, slamming the central government on numerous occasions. But there is no mention of the funding dispute any more, which is interesting. Since Pedro Sanchez became prime minister not a single word has been said. Why?

Well the simple answer is that Sanchez belongs to the Spanish Socialist Party and so does Balearic President Francina Armengol. An issue which was so thorny and led to a war of words between Madrid and Palma (when Mariano Rajoy of the Partido Popular was prime minister) has been quietly forgotten. I suspect that the Balearics will get a better funding deal but it certainly will not be the one which the Balearics had been demanding from Rajoy. The Balearic government will need money and soon if it is to sort out the problems on the roads and also additional funding will be needed for the resorts. The Balearics should get a better deal and party politics shouldn't be an issue.