Viewpoint

I think there is a clear lack of communication in local government circles and they are having serious problems getting their message across. The President of the Council of Majorca, Maria Antonia Munar, announced this week that she wanted to limit the number of people who are moving to the island otherwise Majorca could become a new “Hong Kong.” Well, apart from some wishful thinking on behalf of Sra Munar, it is quite a fair comment. Majorca doesn't have the necessary infrastructure or amenities to cope with a population explosion alongside a buoyant tourist industry. But, of course, as she didn't really measure her words it has been interpreted as meaning by one German official that she doesn't want Germans to continue coming to Majorca and buying property. So once again the local authorities are grabbing the headlines for all the wrong reasons. What I think she meant is that the population growth we have seen over the last two years cannot continue. There are now many thousands more people living in Palma alone. But now we are back into that nasty situation that it appears that the local authorities do not want foreign investment. This is not the case at all. The problem is that these days local politicians have to be careful with their words, because in the case of the Germans, the wrong message can easily be splashed on the front page of one of their Majorca-loving tabloids. Maria Antonia Munar may be trying to defend the interests of Majorca but she must learn that her speeches go much further than the Cape of Formentor.