BALEARIC President Francesc Antich was urged yesterday by the opposition Partido Popular (PP) to take a self-critical look at his government's record during this coming week's General Policy Debate.
Regional PP President, Jose Ramon Bauza and PP Parliamentary spokesman Antoni Pastor (pictured) were critical of the fact that Socialist leader Antich appears to have thrown in the towell and given his government up as lost even though there is another 8-month term of office left to run.
Pastor claimed at a press conference that the Balearic President appears beaten and is not thinking about future government. Pastor said that Antich should take advantage of the Policy Debate running on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of this coming week to recognise his errors of the past, and put forward proposals to improve life for people in the Balearic Islands. Pastor said that the President shouldn't reject the Partido Popular's helping hand simply because they were in opposition, but rather that he should have the maturity to recognise a genuine offer when he saw one.
Meanwhile, Bauza said that the Policy Debate will analyse the last three years of government in the Balearic Islands. He said that really it will be a summary of what could already be seen in the first year - a weak coalition government whose individual party interests were put before those of the wider community.
Socialist policy, declared Bauza, had been dictated by internal conflict resulting in a chaos that completely lacked management or political vision. Bauza furthered that the PP will listen carefully to what Antich has to say about the current state of the Balearic Islands and whether or not he has any proposals for improvement.
If the President is genuinely moved to help local people, then he can count on the support of the opposition, declared Bauza.
Pastor said that the Balearic government can depend on the support of the opposition in voting on next year's budget as long as they prioritise social policy, education and health.