The pact of PSOE, Més and Podemos at the Council of Majorca is proposing the creation of a committee of experts to look into the cases of sexual exploitation involving minors in the care of IMAS, the Majorcan Institute of Social Affairs.
The PSOE spokesperson, Andreu Alcover, said on Monday that he hoped that this committee could be put together over the next fortnight and that it will be able to present a report within three months. The committee's brief will be to assess what has been happening and to make recommendations for the future. Alcover didn't give any names of possible members of this committee, but noted that they may include experts from elsewhere in Spain.
This proposal will go before the Council's plenary on Thursday. It is an alternative to the opposition demand for a commission of investigation. Alcover said that there are question marks about such a commission as it might clash with what the prosecution service is examining. He also believed that the opposition wants this commission in order to keep up controversy in the media and to gain political capital.
The spokespeople for Més and Podemos, Guillem Balboa and Magdalena Gelabert, both voiced their support for the committee of experts, Balboa hoping that it will be one that opposition parties will get behind.
In parliament, meanwhile, the opposition will be keeping up the pressure on the minister for social affairs, Fina Santiago. The leader of the Partido Popular, Biel Company, announced on Monday that questions will be asked of President Armengol during Tuesday's session. These will focus on wanting to know if Armengol agrees with statements made by Santiago last week, when the president was in India.
Company insisted yesterday that Armengol should dismiss Santiago. This is because of her "poor management" of the sexual exploitation cases' scandal and because of "concealing information". "If the president doesn't sack her, then she will be an accomplice."