At a Monday morning press conference, the leader of the Partido Popular in the Balearics, Biel Company, reiterated his party's demand that President Armengol resigns.
Referring to the revelation that the president had been in a Palma at a time which - depending on versions - was either before or after 1am (when bars had to close prior to the curfew now imposed), Company insisted that this was "past the hour she had herself established". For the sake of consistency and in order to "restore dignity to the Balearic government, the best thing that Armengol could do would be to resign".
The PP leader said that the president had brought "monumental public discredit" both by having been out for a drink after 1am and having issued "surreal statements as excuses". These have made the Balearics "the laughing stock of the whole of Spain". "She wanted to take the citizens of the Balearics for fools and she was wrong."
With regard to the new state of alarm, Company observed that it could have been avoided by amending various laws to allow regional governments margins to act at the health level and in limiting mobility. He added that the party backs town halls where the PP govern and which are calling for the curfew to start an hour later (at midnight). This would allow bars and restaurants another hour; shutting by 11pm could lead them to close completely.
Company was critical of the fact that during last week's general policy debate in parliament, President Armengol ruled out asking for a curfew to be applied in the Balearics. "A couple of days later, she signs up to it. These comings and goings only confuse the public and create uncertainty."
He stated that he was envious of the Canary Islands, which have been excluded from the state of alarm. "I wish we had been able to do the same here as in the Canaries, where they are defending their high season, while we lost ours through the disastrous management of the Armengol government, with Negueruela (the tourism minister) at the helm."