Mallorca's mayors have joined the island's restaurant association in rejecting the proposal for early restaurant closing made by Spain's employment minister, Yolanda Díaz, on Monday. The minister said that restaurants staying open until 1am was "crazy".
Jaume Ferriol is the mayor of Maria de la Salut and the president of the Felib federation of town halls. He speaks on behalf of mayors and has made clear that restaurant hours are a matter for town halls to determine. "We, the town halls, are the ones who best know the needs of the restaurant sector and the consequences that these may have for residents, mainly due to the issue of noise. We meet with both parties and try to satisfy them."
The Spanish government should take account of the fact that each region is different. "The Balearic Islands are not the same as, for example, Castile and León. Each region has its type of economy and its climate."
The engine of the Balearic economy is tourism, so early closing would lead to some tourists going elsewhere. And Ferriol draws attention to the fact that residents would be harmed. Their workdays tend to end late, so when they finish they would not find anywhere open for dinner or for a drink. Moreover, the summer weather does not invite early dinner.
Above all, Ferriol insists that Díaz's proposal would represent an invasion of municipal powers and he criticises her for not even having met national representatives from the restaurant sector or from town halls and raised the matter.