Lesson for Matas

THE new Balearic leader, Jaume Matas, sweeps into office this week promising the dawn of a new era with a new “liberal” and “listening” administration. But what he mustn't forget is that four years ago his party was ejected from office because the people of the Balearics felt that “enough was enough.” He has good reason to be buoyant. It was a crushing victory but the last thing the islands need at the moment is a return to the policies of build, build and build. Development is coming very close to ruining the Balearics. The days of concrete jungles are well and truly over. What Matas and his team must do is try and preserve what we've got and at the same time be very careful when he gives the green light to any new type of building. One of the proposals put forward is to build more yacht clubs and golf courses. I think it is a good idea but there is also a danger of yacht clubs becoming just glorified car parks for the elite. There is a shortage of moorings for two months of the year and during the winter months these yachts clubs are like ghost towns. In the four years that Matas has been away the world has developed and so has the tourist industry. It is not enough just to transform Majorca into one big golf course with marinas on its coastline. Learn from other areas and produce a new formula for the future prosperity of these islands. The boom days of the 1990s are well gone and people's attitudes have changed also.
A small revolution is needed to get the Balearics back on its feet and it is going to take time and energy. Majorca's problems will not be solved overnight.