Editorial: The best defence

READING between the lines the Mayor of Calvia, Manu Onieva, wasn´t particularly impressed with the President of the Balearic government, Jose Ramon Bauza, calling the infamous strip in Magalluf “the street of shame.” Infact Onieva defended the vast majority of the business community in Calle Punta Ballena yesterday but at the same time warned that they would continue with their “zero tolerance” towards noise, bad behaviour and those that broke the law in Punta Ballena. And what is more the Mayor reminded everyone of the fate of Faliraki, a Greek resort similar to Magalluf . The authorities there introduced a tough crackdown to clean-up the resort but the business community now wants the return of the hard-drinking British tourists. Now, obviously the mayor is going to defend his own patch but he doesn´t seem to be singing from the same hymn sheet as Bauza who appeared to be calling for the end of Calle Punta Ballena in its present form in his speech on Tuesday. Onieva also seems to be slightly out of step with some of the big hoteliers who are also calling for a crackdown. So, we are living in interesting times. The saga surrounding Magalluf appears to have taken yet another twist. Perhaps it might have been better if the President had not used the words “500 metres of shame.” It is what many people outside Magalluf may think but perhaps Bauza could have been a bit more cautious and chosen his words more carefully.