The difference between left and right; well not a lot of difference, really. When the centre-right Partido Popular swept to power two decades ago, the first thing they did was scrap the tourist tax which had been controversially introduced by the socialist-led previous Balearic government.
The difference between the two was clear to see; for the centre-right it was all tourists come on down while the socialist-led coalition was not so welcoming, calling for fewer tourists but more quality. Policy differences on everything was as you would have expected from parties on the left and right.
But fast forward to now and there isn’t much difference between the governments of Marga Prohens (Partido Popular) and Francina Armengol (socialists). Prohens came to power earlier this year and apart from lowering a few taxes she is keeping many of the policies and projects introduced by Armengol.
The tourist tax is here to stay, even though tour firms and hoteliers are opposed to it. Even the cap on cruise ships (only three can visit the port of Palma at any one time) looks set to stay in place. The Partido Popular has promised to cut red tape and work closer with the tourist industry, but Armengol’s government also made the same promise. Voters must be rather confused. There are no radical changes in policy and if you didn’t know, you could still think that the socialists are in power. Now, I am sure that the Balearic government will get more radical and introduce their own legislation but at the moment, little or nothing is happening.
The problem these days is that there is little difference between the right and left in politics because both sides have moved to the centre. The same occurs in Britain. The Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer came out supporting many of the policies of Baroness Thatcher, who was vilified by the same Labour Party in the 1980s and 1990s.The darling of the right praised by the left.
But Starmer realises that if he is to win, he needs to court the right and the right knows that it will have to do the same. It is a pity that there is no clear water between the left and the right, I am not surprised that voters are confused.