THE Balearic economy grew by nine percent during the first nine months of the year, the government announced on Saturday, more than any other region in Spain. The government even went so far as to claim that the Balearics was leading the economic recovery of Spain. The snag is that 75.8 percent of the Balearic population does not believe the government. While President Bauza embarks on his official tour of South America, three quarters of the general public consider that the current economic situation in the Balearics is “bad”, according to a poll recently carried out by Gadeso.
Only 2.5 percent of those questioned said they consider the economy to be in a healthy condition and 21.7 percent feel the situation is “regular”.
And, despite the grand forecasts the Balearic government has been dishing out, 40 percent fear that the situation will not get any better next year compared to 20 percent who do believe that the situation will improve. 18.5 percent are worried that the economic situation is going to get even worse.
By island, 76.1 percent of Majorcans think the local economy is in a poor condition as do 80.2 percent of Minorcans and 70 percent of Ibizans.
The Gadeso Foundation concluded that the “optimism being shown by central and regional governments is not shared by the general public.”
So, the public will not be fooled.