The Islands plan to make demands on central govt in 2008

PALMA
THE Balearic Islands have an eye to the future, with current regional president Francesc Antich declaring yesterday just what demands he is going to make on the national government in Madrid following the general elections in March of next year.

On the occasion of Constitution Day, a public holiday celebrated throughout the country, Antich was speaking at the Almudaina Palace in Palma where he was accompanied by central government delegate in the Balearics - Ramon Socias - in an act of homage to the two Guardia Civil officers recently murdered in France by ETA terrorists. Socias called for Spaniards and people living in Spain to be “loyal” to their Constitution in order to “guarantee” the rights of everyone. “After the new government sets up office in Madrid in 2008, we want financing for the Balearic Islands to be a top priority,” Antich asserted to an audience of leading political, military and ecclesiastical figures. Further resources for health and education, and the right for all, including the young, to own their own household are basic priorities which need immediate attention, he added. “The territory which I have the honour of representing,” said the President, “needs to be a place where everyone, and not just some, can have a decent standard of living, but funding is needed to make sure that people are provided with what the Spanish Constitution says they are entitled to.” Antich said the time had come for his government to “put their cards on the table” so that the Administration in Madrid could see the reality that many families and young people just don't have enough to pay the high cost of housing in the Balearics.