The controversy over plans to build a new ammunition depot at the Son Sant Joan air base reveals above all how far removed war still feels from Mallorca. The outrage among local residents reflects less a genuine sense of danger than a deep discomfort with anything military – a sentiment long since faded in many central and eastern European countries.
While governments in Warsaw, Prague, Vilnius or even Berlin debate conscription, civil defence and air defence systems, and while cities across the region assess where they would find shelter in an emergency, the idea of war on Mallorca remains abstract. The island lives in peace – and has grown accustomed to it. That ammunition might be stored on an active military base strikes many as almost indecent.
Yet Son Sant Joan has, for 75 years, symbolised Spain’s military presence in the Mediterranean – from rescue operations to readiness for defence. Still, awareness that Spain, too, is part of a threatened Europe seems faint.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez continues to resist meeting NATO’s spending target of two per cent of GDP, insisting that Spain prefers to “invest in peace, not in weapons.” It is a sentiment that sounds morally noble but is politically perilous.
Peace does not sustain itself. Those who see defence as a provocation mistake wishful thinking for security. The planned ammunition depot is no emblem of escalation but a sign of realism: Europe can no longer afford to take its own safety for granted.