The Balearic Socialist Party today announced that it intends to table a motion in parliament to halt the privatisation of local airports. Socialist MP, Damian Borras, said today that a white paper will be shown to all of the parties which form the coalition government and then it will be put before parliament.
Previous governments, left and right, have continually pushed for a role in managing airports in the Balearics. Only on Sunday, Calvia’s councillor for tourism and commerce, Toni Garcia, told the Bulletin that the local authorities need to have a much greater role in how Balearic airports are managed.
But now, with 49 per cent of the Spanish airports authority having been privatised, the local government feels even harder done by. Borras said that not only does the Balearics have no contact with the large corporations buying up private shares, the shares were undervalued when sold and now shareholders are making a massive profit on their investments.
“When they were sold, the shares were valued at 51 euros each. Today they are trading at 104 euros,” he said, adding that the Balearics are gaining nothing out of the part-privatisation process. “We’re neither making any money nor gaining any control of how our airports are managed.”
And for that reason, the socialists, who hope that the rest of the left-wing parties will back the proposition, want the part privatization of Balearic airports halted and the local authorities to be given a role in their future management.