In parliament on Tuesday, President Armengol insisted that Covid measures "have been adopted on the advice of experts and through agreement, consensus and dialogue with political parties, institutions, town halls and the Social Dialogue Table (of business and unions)".
Armengol was responding to questions from Patricia Guasp of Ciudadanos, who wanted to know about "changed criteria" for the wearing of masks outdoors. The president denied that there had been a change. "What was said last week about the use of masks outdoors is the same as this week. Measures must be made more flexible as soon as possible so as to bring them in line with the disease." These must be done, she added, "in order to maintain the economy and save people's lives, and always with the support of business and unions".
Guasp called on the government to go one step further and eliminate the need for the Covid passport. "It has been shown that it is not useful in preventing transmission of the virus. All the experts agree that it is a more political and aesthetic decision than an effective one."
The president stressed that the decision to make the Covid passport mandatory in the Balearics was taken with the agreement of and at the request of sectors such as nightlife. The passport, moreover, has "worked well".
Guasp then attacked Armengol and Prime Minister Sánchez for "governing by means of decree". In the Balearics since the start of the current administration in 2019, there have been 25 decree laws, "breaking all records". These have been for "extraordinary and urgently needed measures that are more than debatable".
The government is then "surprised when they take legal blows one after another". "This government has too much lack of foresight, too much haste, too many decrees, and too much propaganda and self-indulgence. It needs to better explain its decisions to control the pandemic and with legal certainty, self-criticism, transparency and humility."
Armengol retaliated by defending the management of the two years of pandemic. "The figures support this. The Balearics have less mortality and more economic reactivation. Things have been done well."