Business and unions react

Business associations, hoteliers and unions have all been surprised by the results of Sunday’s election. All recognise that a new chapter is opening and are calling on parties which form the next government to do so with consensus and stable agreements.
Carmen Planas, the president of the Balearics Business Confederation, offered her congratulations to those who had been elected and asked for this consensus in there being a common defence of the special economic regime for the Balearics with its new model of financing that will bring greater investment to the islands. She said that the confederation would have dialogue whichever party or parties are in power, just as it always has.
Antoni Mas, the president of PIMEM, the umbrella organisation for small to medium-sized businesses of which Pimeco is one (primarily for the retail sector), acknowledged that there had been a great change and that the electorate had wanted a politics that was different to that of the Partido Popular. Inmaculada de Benito for the Majorca Hoteliers’ Federation said that the results indicated that government institutions had moved to the left, adding that, with pacts yet to be established, the federation would continue to be at the disposal of newly elected officials for talks.
The main trade unions in the Balearics have looked favourably on the shift towards the left, Esperança Barceló of the UGT noting that it represented an end to “authoritarian politics”. While she was content with the rejection of this style of politics, she did not understand why the abstention rate was as high as it was. “In these difficult times for workers, we would have thought that there would have been greater interest.” Katiana Vicens, the secretary-general of the CCOO union, observed that a mandate had been given for a majority among the left-leaning parties and called for there to be responsibility among these parties to govern in the name of all citizens.