‘Red Marga’ leaves hoteliers singing the blues

It was my colleague and friend Joan Riera who dubbed her Red Marga in a column for our sister newspaper, Ultima Hora, and the name has stuck. In fact, her new nickname was used in parliament this week by the right-wing Vox party who are equally confused by the change in the direction of Marga. During the election campaign she promised to cut taxes echoing Thatcherite policies but now she is being compared to Jeremy Corbyn!

The reason for the outcry? Her decision to raise the rate of the tourist tax, no tax-cutting here, the complete opposite. It wasn’t long ago that her Partido Popular were calling for the tax to be abolished. In fact they did so, 21 years ago, before it was reintroduced by the so-called rainbow coalition. And it doesn´t stop there. She has also called for a freeze on more tourist accommodation.

The all-powerful hoteliers, who are closer to the ‘blues’ rather than the ‘reds’ (or at least they were) have slammed her government. The only people who have congratulated her are the Spanish Socialist Party. More disturbing still the left-wing nationalists Mes voted with the Partido Popular on another measure involving the tourist tax. No wonder some party members are seeing red and feeling the blues!