ANNE KAY´S INSIGHT INTO LOCAL POLITICS AHEAD OF THE MAY 25 LOCAL ELECTIONS

QUESTIONS ASKED:
1. How many men and women are present in your candidature?
2. What is the political and professional experience of the candidates with most possibility of being elected?
3. What are the most important points of your programme for the municipality?
4. Do you have any particular points for the European residents of the municipality?
5. What opinion do you have of the fiscal taxes in the municipality.
What are your plans in this respect?
6. Have you thought about the possibility of forming a post election pact if your party does not obtain an overall majority? Which parties are closest to yours?

7. What is your opinion of proportional voting? Do you think that there should be a “second round” in municipalities where no absolute majority has been obtained, so that the parties with less representations can state with which parties they would join forces with?

PARTIDO POPULAR PP
CANDIDATE: COLOMA TERRASA
1. There are five women and fifteen men in our list of 17 councillor candidates and three substitutes.
2. Our list mixes new people eager to work for the party with others who have political experience on the council, including Mateo Salort in the seventh position, who was the mayor of Alcudia in 1987 and 1988 and has a history of 32 years in municipal politics. I am a teacher of the first cycle of secondary education and have been in the opposition of the Alcudia council for four years. Number two, Jaume Xavier Viver is a lawyer, number 3 is Vicente Martinez representing the independent party PIA, and is a doctor and dentist. Number four is Miguel Martorell, a junior education teacher with four years in the opposition. Number five, Maria Victoria Cifre works in the hotel industry, Miquel Ferrer is a lawyer and the remaining candidates represent different fields of work and districts of our municipality.

3. We would like to reduce the municipal debt, improve public services and increase social aid. We would promote the protection of our historic and cultural heritage, improve urban planning bearing in mind sustainability and combat public insecurity
4. Naturally the programme is aimed at all residents of our municipality but the foreign visitors would appreciate particularly: improvements in street cleanliness and rubbish collection, cleaning of the beaches, more control of the noise from cars and also from premises for evening entertainment. Also, public safety, with a committee for the control and prevention of alcohol and drug addiction. We will sign agreements with our security companies and continue to pedestrianise the historic centre of the town.

5. There has been a bad economic administration in Alcudia and in the past four years UM–PSOE created a debt of 2'600 million pesetas due to their incapacity to obtain external resources and so have had to increase the taxes. Our policy will be to create more efficient administration of the resources to reduce this debt. We propose an increase in possible income without increasing taxes.

6. In principle we shall await the results, although we are open to a pact as we are a party prepared to dialogue. We have shown our capacity to pact by making a coalition prior to the election with the Partido Indpendiente de Alcudia.

7. I prefer not to make any opinion on this voting system at this moment.

ESQUERRA UNIDA - ELS

VERDS EU-EV
CANDIDATE: MIQUEL ANGEL LLAUGER
1. It is a parity list following the model of the “zip” (alternating men and women. In all there are nine men and eight women.
2. Miquel Angel Llauger, who heads the list, has been a councillor on the Majorcan Insular Council for the past four years and is a member of the Governing Board of the Green Party of Majorca. Professionally he is a secondary education teacher. The following numbers on the list are for the group of people who have maintained Esquerra Unida in Alcudia, with social campaigns such as the one connected to the housing problem.

3. We can talk about three central lines: First, the democratisation of the town council, promoting as much as possible transparency and the mechanisms of participative democracy. Secondly, answers to the social lack, particularly the commitment with satisfying the demand for housing and the needfor kindergartens for children under three. Thirdly, environment policies: we ask for the Peninsula de la Victoria be part of the future Natural Park of the Tramuntana Range, and also a real programme to make the tourist offer for Alcudia completely ecological.

4. Alcudia has changed its social composition a lot, with new citizens coming from the Spanish mainland, from other parts of Europe and from other countries such as Ecuador, Bolivia or Morocco. The challenge is to preserve the character of the Majorcan people and yet at the same time to have an open and cosmopolitan town. As far as specific measures, most important are those referring to foreigners from the South, for which we are proposing an attention service to orientate them with their demands (education, health, work, legal situation, housing...)
5. We should not say whether fiscal pressure is too high or too low.
The municipalities are institutions with few resources, and what is important is the capacity to give reasonable services in relation to these resources. I think that it is more interesting to study transformations of the municipal rates and taxes, that, without raising the global pressure, should be reoriented in a social and ecological sense. We should study the possibility of things such as progressive water tariffs (higher cost per litre for the highest consumption) or taxes on homes that would affect unoccupied homes and favour the habitual dwelling.

6. The objective of Esquerra Unida-Els Verds is to give a new air to a council that for too long has been comprised by three parties: PP, UM and PSOE. But at the same time we want to facilitate a progress government, so that we are prepared to make agreements (in relation to the results) for the formation of that government that is committed to the most needy and with protection of our territory. In this sense, obviously it would be easier, for example, to pact with the PSOE than with the PP.

7. Every system of voting has its advantages and disadvantages, but from EU-EV we believe that the majority system favours the large parties and leaves the options that represent respectable sectors of society without any institutional representation. For this reason, we opt for the proportional systems, although we believe that formulas can be found to reduce the absolute control of parties intrinsic in the closed lists. We do not defend the option of a “second round”. A first round gives as a result municipalities with approximate proportional representation of the different options. As from there, the mayor is elected, based on a strong majority, or as from majorities that emerge from the coalitions. In any case, the majorities that emerge from coalitions have all the democratic legitimacy and are a valid formula expressing the voters' wish.

UNION MALLORQUINA:
UM
CANDIDATE: MIGUEL FERRER VIVER
1. Of the 20 people who form the candidature, we are 16 men and four women. for
2. The need for kindergartens for children under three. Thirdly, environment policies: we ask for the Peninsula de la Victoria be part of the future Natural Park of the Tramuntana Range, and also a real programme to make the tourist offer for Alcudia completely ecological.

4. Alcudia has changed its social composition a lot, with new citizens coming from the Spanish mainland, from other parts of Europe and from other countries such as Ecuador, Bolivia or Morocco. The challenge is to preserve the character of the Majorcan people and yet at the same time to have an open and cosmopolitan town. As far as specific measures, most important are those referring to foreigners from the South, for which we are proposing an attention service to orientate them with their demands (education, health, work, legal situation, housing...)
5. We should not say whether fiscal pressure is too high or too low.
The municipalities are institutions with few resources, and what is important is the capacity to give reasonable services in relation to these resources. I think that it is more interesting to study transformations of the municipal rates and taxes, that, without raising the global pressure, should be reoriented in a social and ecological sense. We should study the possibility of things such as progressive water tariffs (higher cost per litre for the highest consumption) or taxes on homes that would affect unoccupied homes and favour the habitual dwelling.

6. The objective of Esquerra Unida-Els Verds is to give a new air to a council that for too long has been comprised by three parties: PP, UM and PSOE. But at the same time we want to facilitate a progress government, so that we are prepared to make agreements (in relation to the results) for the formation of that government that is committed to the most needy and with protection of our territory. In this sense, obviously it would be easier, for example, to pact with the PSOE than with the PP.

7. Every system of voting has its advantages and disadvantages, but from EU-EV we believe that the majority system favours the large parties and leaves the options that represent respectable sectors of society without any institutional representation. For this reason, we opt for the proportional systems, although we believe that formulas can be found to reduce the absolute control of parties intrinsic in the closed lists. We do not defend the option of a “second round”. A first round gives as a result municipalities with approximate proportional representation of the different options. As from there, the mayor is elected, based on a strong majority, or as from majorities that emerge from the coalitions. In any case, the majorities that emerge from coalitions have all the democratic legitimacy and are a valid formula expressing the voters' wish.

PARTIDO SOCIALISTA: PSIB - PSOE

CANDIDATE MELCHIORA GOMEZ
1. Our list is one of parity and equality.
2. In the first nine places, two of us have been councillors until now in the PSOE–UM pact in Alcudia. I am a school teacher and I have been a councillor in the government of Alcudia for four years, working in different areas. The number two in the list is a young 33 year old man who works in public administration. Number three is a lady with political experience who has been working in the administration of social welfare. Number four is a young man without political experience so far who is a technician in environment studies. Number five has worked in different posts. Number six has worked in tourism and sport and Number 7 shares her time between working and studying.

3. We must give priority to the environment, to public safety, social welfare and to youth. I think these are the basic pillars in our society. More or less the basic necessities have been covered and now we must work towards improving all these, and particularly integration. We need the public to be participants in local affairs. We will experiment with more participation in local decisions and in the decisions on the budget.

4. We consider all citizens of the municipality to be members alike but we do have activities to help the integration of our foreign residents into our local life. Particularly there are Catalan classes and so the new residents can learn to be participants and to become interested in the dynamics of the municipality. In Alcudia we have a lot of experience of this integration as the foreign members have taken a lot of interest in our local activities.

5. I don't think that the fiscal pressure in Alcudia is very high. We certainly do not stand out for being more than the average.
6. We will not make a decision on possible pacts until we have the final results but we are open to a progress pact and one that banks on good administration.

7. The subject of proportional voting is complex but I do not think that absolute majorities are not really good as they can make defects come to light. When there is a pact, the parties must reconsider their positions and find common solutions, which can in fact be better for the public.