More than a year on from taking power, perhaps Marga Prohens and the Partido Popular realised they needed to unleash policies beyond attempting to persuade town halls into agreeing to the conversion of commercial premises into residential accommodation and also attempting to actually govern in face of the ludicrous infighting among their supposed supporters from Vox. The president thus unveiled the plan for the train to Llucmajor, which made modest ripples, but also defied party ideology by announcing a high-season increase in the tourist tax.
How to detonate a tourism row bomb
Did the government sense the need to drop a bomb or two rather than face an ongoing criticism of inaction?
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Zoltan TeglasThis is why I don't subscribe to any "tribe". It's too easy to just just point fingers at the "other" tribe. The reality is that both sides have a natural tendency to act in the interest of the tribe over the interest of the jurisdiction they were elected to be responsible for. Having said that, I have to agree with Andrew on this one. This is a PR move more than anything else. It will have little or no impact, but it makes it appear as if they're "doing something". But again, the truth is that this "problem" isn't easy to fix nor is going away anytime soon, no matter what government presides over it. There is no magic wand. I would argue that this is hardly a "bomb" in any practical sense. Sure, it pisses of the hoteliers who though they had the presiding government in their pocket, but in reality, most of tourism will hardly notice a couple of Euros per night. They'll keep coming, just like they did last year, and this year and every year. And tourism isn't the root cause anyway. The root cause is that Mallorca has become increasingly desirable over the past decade - both for tourism and for would-be home buyers - especially pensioners who've accumulated some wealth in their lifetimes and are seeking a nice place to live the rest of their days. They're happy to pay for it, and the sellers are happy to take their money. The story is the same everywhere - bought that family home 30 years ago for a couple hundred grand, paid it off over time, and then retired and sold it for 1.5 million at current prices - and using that money to buy that house in Mallorca that they always wanted. It's happening all around us. And the locals are making a lot of money from it - not just the sale at top prices, but any construction (lots of that going on) taxes, fees, you name it. Everybody's getting a cut. And they vote. It's also worth pointing out that this is hardly a "tax increase" on the electorate. It's a tax increase on --> tourists <--. And it's a bit of a stretch to say it's breaking a promise. But don't get me wrong - I'm not supporting it or the PP. It's a useless act with no impact. It's all about protecting the image of the tribe to voters, and has little to do with the issue at hand. Tribalism is the bane of modern politics, and too oft leads to useless (often expensive) acts that "solve" imaginary "problems" caused by imaginary "enemies". Look at Brexit, for example. And Andrew - it doesn't matter what the British press thinks. They've already scared some number of Brits off. But that won't have much impact either. Tourists will still keep coming and people will still keep buying properties.
It's about time the PP realised that they are supposed to work for all the residents of Mallorca, not just rich people and big business.