Mayor back tracks over plans to move prostitutes out of the city centre to Son Pardo

The Mayor of Palma, Joan Fageda, yesterday admitted that he had misjudged the general public when he announced plans to herd the city centre's prostitutes up to Son Pardo and that in fact, the operation would be difficult to carry out. “While nobody likes to have such activity close to their homes,” Fageda said that for the moment the city council will continue discussing solutions with the various public and social organisations in a bid to find the ideal solution. Fageda pointed out that he never said that Son Pardo was the “definitive” destination and that alternatives are being examined. But the back lash from the Son Pardo community caught the city council by surprise and the Mayor's announcement yesterday means that a protest by hundreds of Son Pardo residents with their horses through the city centre has been avoided. The Mayor said that prostitution is not only a problem facing Palma, but the “whole country and will get worse as the number of immigrants continues to grow.”