Maria Salom, President Armengol and Jaume Barceló at yesterday evening's ceremony for the Guardia Civil.

Maria Salom, President Armengol and Jaume Barceló at yesterday evening's ceremony for the Guardia Civil. | Alejandro Sepúlveda

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterPalma12/10/2017 00:00
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Ahead of today's National Day, there was a distinctly frosty atmosphere at the Guardia Civil's headquarters in Palma as Maria Salom, the Partido Popular national government delegate to the Balearics, turned on President Armengol and accused her government of wanting to undermine national identity.

Salom made specific references to government legislation on bullfighting and to Palma town hall's desire to demolish the Feixina monument. She then targeted "some political groups" in the Balearics which wish to foster division in a society where there is no issue with "coexistence".

The body language said it all, and afterwards Armengol said that she regretted the fact that Salom had turned the occasion into a political party meeting.

The government delegate praised the work of the Guardia Civil who the country need "more than ever". The colonel-in-chief of the Guardia in the Balearics, Jaume Barceló, observed that there were currently "difficult moments for Spain" and expressed his solidarity with officers in Catalonia.

Today is also the fiesta for the Virgen del Pilar, the patron saint of the Guardia Civil.