The Partido Popular government in the Balearics finds itself in a difficult position. Having made a pact with Vox, its first major initiative - setting the budget for 2024 - has run up against an obstacle that it could have seen coming. Vox have made language a condition of supporting the budget, specifically the free choice of language (Castellano or Catalan) for teaching in Balearic schools.
The PP are fully aware of the political risks posed by language in schools. Free choice of language was an element of education policies pursued by the last PP government, that of José Ramón Bauzá from 2011 to 2015. There were various reasons why the PP suffered a disastrous election result in 2015, and these policies were high among them.
Vox have been told that they are asking for the impossible, and unions, who were opposed to Bauzá, are having their say. One of the two main unions, the UGT, has made a preliminary calculation of the cost of segregating students per classroom depending on the language chosen - around 120 million euros annually.
This takes into account the average annual costs per teacher and the duplication of classrooms and teachers, although it doesn't factor in added investment in infrastructure. Tino Davia, secretary of the UGT's teaching sector, says that this investment would alone "increase the total cost of a measure that is totally unnecessary and contrary to the majority sentiment of society on the islands and the educational community".
Davia adds: "It is fundamental that there are meetings with the educational community before making decisions that can have such a significant impact on the education of students. The minister (Antoni Vera) has himself stated that dialogue with all educational sectors will be the basis for decision-making."