The left-wing Balearic Socialist Party PSIB has refused to vote in favour of naming Princess Leonor, heir to the Spanish crown, Adoptive Daughter of Mallorca, because it considers that, without having reached a consensus prior to the plenary session, a proposal should not have been presented, and furthermore, they regret that hard-right party Vox leaked it to the press before it had been officially agreed and announced. The Mallorcan party PI also abstained for the same reasons, while Més is against it because of its republican stance.
“From the beginning we asked that the issue be treated with secrecy, but this is the first time that a proposal has been brought to the plenary session of the Council of Mallorca when there was no consensus at the meeting of spokespersons. It is a failure of theirs that this whole spectacle is happening,” said PSIB spokeswoman Catalina Cladera.
The president of the National Monarchist Brotherhood of Spain in the Balearics, José Fernández, reiterated that the initiative came from his organisation, which “does not depend on any party or the Royal House. Within our association, political discussion is forbidden”, he assured, stressing that, at first, all the parties, except Més, expressed their vote in favour.
The spokesman for the PI, Antoni Salas, denounced the fact that Vox “wants to make the proposal their own and filter it; they are trying to wear down the opposition so that they will take a stance against what they are asking for”. The Mallorcan nationalist also rejected the forms: “Because of the forms and the expository, they force us to vote against many of their proposals and, unfortunately, this is another case. You are not interested in paying tribute to Princess Leonor, you want to hurt your opponents”, he reiterated, pointing out that they have broken the secrecy and unanimity of the Council.
“You leaked them, you did it for political gain and you didn’t care if it created controversy at the expense of the Royal House”, he stated. The representative of Vox, David Gil, criticised the stance of the PSIB, Pi and Més, considering that they are against the Royal Household and that their rejection of it damages its image. In his opinion, the socialists have changed their minds for political reasons and not because of the fact that it was published in the press that Vox had proposed the distinction. “I believe that the defence of awarding this title should transcend ideologies”, he concluded.
The Spanish royal family has traditionally spent their Easter and summer holidays at Marivent Palace, Palma, for decades and the official summer holiday photograph is always taken at one of the island’s monuments or places of importance and interest. The royals have also invited leading international figures and political leaders to the island to join them during the summers.