Shoulder to shoulder....

On his arrival, the President-elect, Jose Ramon Bauza, was met at the entrance to the Consolat de Mar by the outgoing President Francesc Antich and it appears that yesterday's meeting was a very cordial and professional affair.

In fact, it was the first time that the Consolat de Mar has held such a meeting.
In the past, the incoming and outgoing ministers have met separately to hand over, this time it was a team effort by both sides After the exchange of political powers between the various ministers, Francesc Antich and Jose Ramon Bauza held a joint press conference to explain what they spent the morning discussing, what it means for the future of the Balearics and how the new government intends to go about mapping that out over the next four years.

Both outgoing and incoming Presidents spoke of their shared desire to work together in the best interests of the Balearics.
Won or lost “Now the elections are over, it's no longer about who won or lost, it's about working in the best interests of the people,” Antich, who will now take up a post as a Balearic Senator in Madrid, said. “There are in fact more issues which unite us as opposed to divide us and there is going to be plenty of time for debate and dialogue and this collaboration will be in the interests of the Balearics and that makes me very happy,” Antich added.

The idea that Bauza and Antich stand shoulder to shoulder in Madrid was apparently suggested by the new President and Bauza publicly thanked Antich for his positive response. “I want to be able to count on him,” Bauza said in reference to Francesc Antich. “We can't afford to waste his deep experience and knowledge and, of course, the important position he is about to take up in Madrid,” Bauza explained.

Understanding
This understanding between the two parties is part of the model for the future politics of the Balearics which will revolve around meeting the needs of the local community as best as possible and, if cross party consensus is going to be needed, then Bauza and Antich are prepared to reach it. “We're not here now to carry on arguing, we're here to work in the best interests of the general public, independently of our political ideology,” Bauza added.

And, Antich underlined just how important his role in Madrid could prove to be for the Bauza and the Balearics because of the close working relationship his government managed to establish with Madrid over the past four years.

Antich specifically referred to the significant increase in state investment in the region his government managed to secure and making sure that Madrid does not turn the financial tap off to the Balearics is going to be crucial to Bauza's bid to get the region back on its feet and out of the recession as quickly as possible.

Bauza recognised that the former government did achieve great things and he said that he has no intention of destroying the good work done, but he underlined that much greater things can and will be achieved if he and Antich can present Madrid with a compelling united front.

The new President said that yesterday's exchange of powers proved a smooth and positive process and thanked the outgoing ministers for their cooperation and for being fully transparent with regards to the passing over of information to make sure they are well prepared to start work in earnest on Monday.