16/11/2014 00:00
TW
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Political back scratching
British Prime Minister David Cameron said that he wanted Spain to stay united and that any referendum to decide whether Catalonia becomes independent should be done through the proper constitutional framework.
That was Cameron’s way of thanking his Spanish counterpart, Mariano Rajoy, for warning Scotland that, if they voted for independence, Spain would veto its application to join the European Union.

Royal watch
After Princess Cristina was charged with two counts of tax fraud, the investigating judge in Palma, Jose Castro, gave the prosecution a period of ten days to name which of the 20 suspects that want to call to the stand and what sentences they would like to see pressed against each one if found guilty. Castro should receive the list this week and it is heavily rumoured that the Princess will be included. Castro will then have to study each application and then he will make the final decision as to who he  calls to stand trial. The case is not expected to go to court until 2016, so don’t hold your breath.

“Lest we forget”
On Wednesday, cities and towns  across the UK, Europe, the Commonwealth  and the United States fell silent to mark the anniversary of the World War One Armistice. On the previous Sunday, Remembrance Services were held across the world, including here
in Palma and Puerto Pollensa. But this year, all eyes were on the 888,246 ceramic poppies which had been planted in the moat of the Tower of London. The final poppy was planted by a 13-year-old army cadet.

Tourists making the locals fat...
l Experts this week blamed tourism for the rising levels of obesity in the Balearics. Apparently, the level of obesity has hit an “alarming” rate in the Balearics and the blame has been placed on the fast food and deep fried diet which has been imported by foreign tourists. That said, Spanish families were also accused of having failed to have adjusted their shopping habits to the recession by making the best with low resources and cooking well, which used to be a common practice.

Feeling the pinch
And, that report was followed by another which revealed that nearly 30 percent of families in the Balearics are struggling to make it to end of the month, despite the Balearics being one of the wealthiest regions in Spain. Three out of ten people are facing social exclusion as the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. In total, 306,000 people in the Balearics, the equivalent of 115,000 households, are in danger of social exclusion.

Under pressure
With local and general elections looming next year, the so-called legacy the Balearic President, Jose Ramon Bauza, would like to leave behind is looking rather bleak. Union leaders have warned that public services, in particular the health service and education, are going to “crash” before the May local elections. Bauza was quick  to try and defend himself by claiming his governments has not cut any funding to the health service, but a letter to the editor questioned that.