Palma's referendums

Jason Moore04/01/2017 00:00

Palma city council just loves referendums. Last year it organised one on whether bars should be allowed to have chairs and tables on the Borne and now it is planning to ask the people whether they support moving the New Year celebrations from the Plaza Cort to the Borne. Because of building work to the town hall, the end-of-year celebrations took place in the Borne. The move proved quite successful and now the council wants to know whether the people of Palma want to make the move permanent.

To be honest, I think that referendums are a waste of time when you have an elected body whose principal task is to make decisions on behalf of the people who voted them into office. What is the point of having a government team when all they do is to pass-the-buck on important decisions? Perhaps the city council should talk to the people and then make a decision which would save the need of a costly referendum on an issue which is not really of vital importance to Palma.

I would say that the Borne is an ideal place for the New Year celebrations despite the fact that it is missing one vital aspect - a clock. The problem was overcome this year thanks to a virtual reality time piece which was beamed on to the walls of the Palau Solleric. But there is no need for a referendum. Just make a decision, Palma city council. Otherwise we could rid ourselves of a council and then just have referendums on everything.