Pablo Martín, the PSOE deputy for the Balearics in Congress, says that the provision of 159 million euros of investment for the Balearics in the national budget is a deliberate punishment for the islands and places the Balearics right towards the back of the queue in terms of investments in the regions of Spain.
Martín considers that the investment envisaged for 2016 will place the public accounts in an awkward situation and that PSOE representatives in both Congress and the Senate will be proposing amendments to bring the Balearics’ investment more in line with averages planned for other regions.
Though the 159 million is the highest of investment allocations made by the current national government, it pales into significance, argues Martín, with the 300 million in 2008 when PSOE held the presidency of the Balearics (Francesc Antich) and was also the ruling party nationally (José Luis Zapatero).
The investment budget since the Partido Popular took over in 2011 has, on average, been 118 million, while under PSOE it had been 427 million.
He believes that an additional 70 million euro budget for investment in sewage treatment is a smokescreen, as this stems from negotiations between the previous (PP) Balearic administration and national government that were not firmed up, while he also supports the decision of President Armengol to seek legal redress for statutory investments that have not been paid by the national government.