I am not a tourist

In fact, when the former Balearic president José Ramón Bauzá was in power, he got an even rougher ride from Madrid - where his bosses were from the same party - the Partido Popular. Now, with socialist leader Francina Armengol at the helm of the post-modern left-wing coalition, she at least appears to have got the ear of the PP’s prime minister in minority, Mariano Rajoy.

Both she and her deputy, the minister for tourism, Biel Barceló, never miss an opportunity to remind senior members of Rajoy’s cabinet that the Balearics is not getting a fair deal and that the situation has got to be rectified. The Balearics, as a region, pays in more than most autonomous governments in Spain, but receives some of the least in return.

The general consensus of opinion in Madrid is that most people in the Balearics are either on holiday or millionaires - in my dreams. There is a shortfall of money for social services, the health service could do with more funding, despite the excellent job it does, and the Balearics should have a say in how the airports are managed and receive a return of the revenue the airports generate. Palma airport is one of the most lucrative airports in Spain, but we just benefit from more noise and contamination.