Immigration - Matas critical of Spanish Government

JAUME Matas, leader of the Balearic Government, said yesterday that the reason for the influx of immigrants is not the result of the “facilities” which Western countries can give them, but is due to a “prosperous and ageing” society which needs younger people to be able to “maintain levels of prosperity”. In the case of the Balearics, he underlined that the contribution of non-Spanish workers had been “fundamental” in maintaining figures “not of growth, but of normal functioning” for the economy of the islands. At the same time he criticised the Spanish Government's “lack of control” over immigration and demanded they “organise themselves” as soon as possible.
He argued that the “injection of young and new blood” from immigration has a “multiplying” effect on the economy and helps maintain levels of competitivity “in the globalised Western world”. In addition to this, he said that immigration was necessary to maintain the local economy and for the correction of the population's age balance.
In any case, he argued for adopting an intermediate line between “multiculturalism and assimilation” into the system of values and principles laid down in the Spanish laws, “especially those which affect the rights and liberties of the person”. He claimed that multiculturalism created ghettos and caused “more problems than it solves”. At this point, he accused the Spanish Government of creating a “generalised loss of control” as a result of “irresponsible policies” which “they have never thought through”, the result of which is the immigration “avalanche” now being seen in reception centres especially in the Canary Islands. As a result of this state of affairs, he highlighted that the first thing the Spanish Government should do is “urgently organise themselves”, by controlling both illegal immigration and restricting entry for those who haven't got a job to go to. If this is not done, he said, within a short time Spain could be an “importer of unemployment” as the population would grow without an equal generation of jobs, “as has happened in the Scandinavian countries”. With regard to this, he said that it was necessary to look at what was happening in northern European countries, for example Sweden and Holland, where the “great compassion” of their society had caused a sort of “schizophrenia.” He said that these countries were now struggling with “permissive multiculturalism and the perception of their system of values and identity being threatened”. He added that they are also living with the contradiction between a very developed welfare system and the reality that there is a lot of unemployment among immigrants, and “some ethnic groups band together in ghettos”. He further said that in Sweden, the question is not xenaphobic discrimination, but that the economy is growing without creating employment. He asked that these experiences should be reflected on in Spain because they are “evident” risk factors. “The biggest problem is not the integration of the immigrants into the economic system, but the cultural conflict which is provoked by the overwhelming impact between the receiving society and those who have just arrived”.