COMMENT

THE analysis of how influential the foreign vote was in last Sunday's municipal elections in the Balearics will probably continue for some time before a firm conclusion can be drawn. It can already be said with confidence that more foreigners registered to vote, more actually voted and had a greater impact on the outcome than previously. It is also true that more foreigners, especially the British, actually stood for election on the party lists. It is unlikely, though, that any made the kind of impact that a British brother and sister have had on the politics of the Valencian village of Teulada. Four years ago Sylvia Tatnell with her Independent group of expatriates won six seats of the 17 council seats, two more than the Partido Popular. This time she “pacted” with the PP and together they won a majority with 13 seats. Her brother Tony had advised her against joining forces with the PP because he thought her group might lose its independence. He had himself been a PP candidate in 1999, but decided instead to stand as an independent this time. It was not a wise move since his newly formed party got only two seats. Teulada is a special case. More than half its population is non–Spanish; there are British, German, French and Dutch residents. The PP probably took 90 per cent of the foreign vote in a healthy overall turn–out of 70 per cent. There was also a protest vote; a local man stood on a ticket of opposing the presence of foreigners on Teulada's council. He was not elected.