ARCHIVED - Murcia and Spanish news round-up week ending 21st June 2019
The summer starts here as a deal appears to have been struck for a PP-Ciudadanos coalition government in Murcia
The summer of 2019 officially begins at 17.54 on Friday 21st June, although with temperatures in Murcia already having climbed above 35 degrees during the last week it would be understandable if people made the mistake of thinking it had started a while ago!
What’s more, the forecasters are warning that after a cooler weekend the thermometers could be pushing 40 during the last week of June, and that after one of the wettest springs on record there are likely to be more intense and longer-lasting heatwaves than usual this summer – any lingering doubts over whether to put eiderdown into storage must surely have been banished by now!
While the heat rises in Murcia, almost a month after the regional election on 26th May it appears that Fernando López Miras of the PP is about to succeed in his bid to be re-appointed as the president of the regional government despite the PSOE having won more seats in parliament, with the announcement on Thursday that a policy agreement has been reached with the Ciudadanos party. According to the PP’s chief negotiator José Miguel Luengo (the Mayor of San Javier), the agreement contains the best of the programs of both the PP and Ciudadanos, while Miguel Garaulet of Ciudadanos asserts that the policies contained in the document will “improve the lives” of those living in the Region of Murcia.
However, there are still some potential stumbling blocks to be overcome before Fernando López of the PP can be certain of continuing as president of the regional government, not least the need to comment on how the most important posts in a coalition administration are to be distributed. In addition, the 16 PP members of the new parliament and the 6 belonging to Ciudadanos do not constitute a majority of the total of 45: for Sr López Miras to be certain of receiving sufficient votes in next week’s investiture debate he would need to count on the support, or at least the abstention, of the four members representing the radical right-wing group Vox, and this is far from guaranteed.
As a footnote, the willingness of Ciudadanos to enter an alliance with the PP is perhaps indicated by the fact that the agreement reached on Thursday does not include any commitment to pushing for the imposition of direct rule from Madrid in the region of Catalunya in order to quell the separatist regional government. This had appeared to be a non-negotiable condition of any agreement they might have considered reaching with the PSOE, but has apparently been left by the wayside in their eagerness to share power with the PP.
However, a week is a long time in politics as some politicians found to their surprise last Saturday when the newly elected councillors placed their votes for the position of Mayor in each of the region's 45 local councils, voting pacts changing the outcome of the elections.
Controversy in Cartagena as former Mayor rants against opponents; former Mayor of Cartagena José López launched an abusive diatribe against the PP-PSOE power-sharing agreement in the Town Hall after the two parties pooled their resource to keep him out of office despite his MC party having more seats on the council than any other group.
By the terms of the agreement Ana Belén Castejón of the PSOE will remain as Mayoress for the next two years before handing over the Mayoral staff to Noelia Arroyo of the PP, thus avoiding the prospect of the controversial and outspoken José López taking office. Inevitably, Sr López was in no mood to take this setback lying down, but unfortunately on both Saturday and Sunday, while venting his anger at impromptu meetings outside the Town Hall, some of his language was not printable and most of his rhetoric was highly vitriolic, with criticisms of both political and personal nature being directed at the two Mayoresses who will lead Cartagena council for the next four years.
However, the surprise last-minute pact, while welcomed by the PP, was not well received by the regional PSOE party, and on Tuesday Sra Castejón found herself obliged to resign from her post as general secretary of the PSOE in Cartagena and confirm that she will not stand for re-election in 2023, admitting that when she entered an alliance with the PP she did so in the belief that it was for the good of Cartagena but without informing or consulting with the leaders of the party in the Region. In return, the party merely suspended her membership rather than expelling her, and the local coalition will go ahead with Sra Arroyo having praised her new colleague’s “courage and generosity” and Manuel Padín of the Ciudadanos party stressing that the deal had been struck to avoid the “threat” of an MC administration.
Elsewhere in the Region of Murcia the new or returning Mayors and Mayoresses were all appointed last Saturday, and apart from the last-minute surprise in Cartagena there are 22 PSOE Mayors on the list, the PP take the helm in a further 17 municipalities, including the city of Murcia, Cuidadanos boast 3 Mayors, Antonio León was reinstated as Mayor of Torre Pacheco representing the local PITP party, Juan José Cánovas of Izquierda Unida was appointed Mayor of Totana and in Mazarrón a coalition lead by the PSOE replaced the most voted party in the municipality, the PP, through a voting pact – click here for the full list.
Airport and tourism news
Vueling weighs up Corvera-Barcelona flight proposal: the Murcia government estimates that two thirds of Alicante-Barcelona passengers travel to or from the Region.
Official request made for Corvera airport to be named after Juan de la Cierva: the pioneering aviator from Murcia invented the autogyro in the 1920s and now it’s time to start practising your pronunciation of “Aeropuerto Internacional Región de Murcia – Juan de la Cierva”! (The simple title of "Corvera airport" may be difficult to dislodge!)
First Quality Tours packages of 2019 bring Czech tourists to La Manga, Mazarrón and the Mar Menor: over 9,000 Czechs are coming to the Costa Cálida between May and late October.
40 Q for Quality beaches in the Costa Cálida for the summer of 2019: the list includes 21 Mar Menor beaches for the second year in a row.
Agriculture and the environment
Sea turtle rescued off the coast of Mazarrón: the turtle was spotted by a canoeist and was entangled in fishing line and plastics.
200 kilos of rubbish cleared from the sea in Bolnuevo: most of the waste removed by divers last Sunday consisted of plastics.
Yecla platform group reports 3 million lettuces rotting in the fields: activists denounce over-farming and an alleged waste of 120 million litres of water on crops which are surplus to requirements.
Other items in the Murcia news this week
Two Guardia Civil officers run over in Totana while at the scene of an accident: the two were taken to hospital in Lorca shortly after the lorry driver whose vehicle skewed off the A-7 motorway.
Portuguese men o’war along the Costa Cálida: more sightings this week, including one off Bolnuevo beach in Mazarrón, while images of the frightening stings of the creatures were published by a victim who was stung at Puntas de Calnegre.
Dog found hanged in Lorca park: Lorca Animal Rescue group highlights a shocking case of cruelty to animals – image at the foot of the article reached via this link.
Murcia government debt rises by 304 million euros: Murcia is the fourth most indebted of the 17 regions of Spain.
Dog therapy for child patients at the Arrixaca hospital in Murcia: Doctor Guau and Mr Dogs join the medical staff at the largest hospital in Murcia following a successful trial at the Santa Lucía in Cartagena.
Bells lifted into their new tower at the church of Santa María de Gracia in Cartagena: the bells were reinstalled last Friday after restoration and repair work on the façade of the church.
Cement mixer overturns on Murcia motorway slip road: the driver was taken for treatment to the Arrixaca hospital in El Palmar.
Bather taken to hospital after 10-metre fall into the water at Mula beauty spot: the spring of Fuente Caputa in Mula was used by the Romans for crop irrigation 2,000 years ago.
Cartagena solar-power car attempts to beat its 220-kilometre record in London: UPCT Solar achieved a mark of 220km per KwH last year in the Shell Eco Marathon.
Unfortunate passer-by in Lorca injured by falling flagpole: the flags at the Teatro Guerra were being taken down after the Día de la Región ceremony.
10,000 kilos of hashish intercepted at sea off Cartagena: 350 bundles of drugs found in the hold of a Moldovan merchant vessel 98 miles from the Murcia coastline.
First claim for joint custody of a pet dog reaches the courts of Murcia: the claimant has not been allowed to see his dog for over two years. The hearing was held on Wednesday but no verdict has yet been returned.
Modernist door handles stolen from historic building in central Cartagena: the Casa Maestre in Plaza de San Francisco was built for a Minister in the Spanish government who was the father of the man who kicked off the development of La Manga.
20,000 kilos of illegal tobacco confiscated in Murcia and Molina de Segura: 4 Poles and a Spaniard have been arrested in connection with the contraband tobacco found in Cobatillas and Molina de Segura.
New-born puppy rescued from drainage channel next to the motorway in Puerto Lumbreras: the search is now on for a foster home for the tiny puppy.
Tow truck cashpoint robbers arrested after Archivel heist last week: the gang of Albanians, Serbs and a Spaniard are charged with 9 similar robberies.
9 migrants brought ashore in Cartagena after their boat was intercepted close to Cabo de Palos: the Algerians were 4 miles from the shore when intercepted by the Guardia Civil.
Murcia and Spanish property news
A week of little news related to the Spanish real estate market has provided few indicators of sales figures or prices, but a survey carried out at the most recent Salón Inmobiliario de Madrid event has reached conclusions which suggest that the number of homes being bought and sold in Spain may be close to reaching a ceiling after increasing steadily over the last five years, with prices reaching a level where for many buyers the mortgage they would require is not within their reach.
Banks have now recovered their confidence in the health of the market and are far more willing to lend than a few years ago, but according to the latest figures produced by Spain’s notaries the average mortgage loan is for 74.7 per cent of the purchase price of the properties in question. The SIMA survey finds that 27.8 per cent of potential buyers would now require a loan of 80 per cent or more, a proportion which has risen from 24.4 per cent a year ago and as few as 16.2 per cent in 2015, when prices were at their lowest ebb.
Meanwhile, leading Spanish property valuation firm ST this week reports that despite the recovery in the real estate market in the Region of Murcia over the last couple of years activity in the residential construction sector has barely begun again in the Costa Cálida since the market crashed in late 2007 and 2008. However, at many locations along the coast the evidence would seem to point to something of a revival over the last two years or so: new properties clearly are being built in Isla Plana, for example, although not on the scale of a dozen years ago, and with the increase in demand having started later in Murcia than in some other regions it is reasonable to expect that more holiday homes, either for rental or for second residences, will appear over the next few years.
Spanish news round-up – the migration issue returns to the headlines with the start of summer
For many years it has been the case in Spain that the number of migrants from Africa making their way across the Mediterranean to the coastline shoots up with the warmer weather and calmer sea conditions in summer, and the matter was back in the news this week on various occasions including a tragic failed crossing not far from the coast of Morocco.
On the one hand, the latest data show that a lull over the last six weeks has resulted in the current accumulated total of migrants reaching Spain this year is 17.8 per cent lower than at the same point in 2018 at 11,400, due in large part to increased collaboration with the Moroccan authorities. But no sooner had that been announced than the headlines were occupied by the rescue of 27 migrants who had survived adrift in the Alboran Sea between Andalucía and Morocco after 22 of their companions had died, having thrown the lifeless bodies overboard. In addition, when the Vronskiy ferry came to their rescue several more of the people on the boat were in very poor health, and a maritime rescue helicopter airlifted three men, two women and a girl to hospital in Almería.
Activist Helena Maleno has been highly critical of the apparent lack of collaboration between Spain and Morocco in coordinating the search operation, and is adamant that “if the people in danger had been European they would not have died”.
In addition, it should be remembered that Spain also has territory on the north African coast in the enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, and on Monday morning 40 people were detained after a pitched battle involving those who compete for control of the breakwaters as they await an opportunity to enter Spanish and EU territory without authorization to do so in the port of the former. This is the third such incident in the last week among the Moroccan migrants, and port employees are upset that the security measures protecting them appear to be insufficient.
Elsewhere, as Spain continues to await the formation of the next national government – a surprise development this week has been former Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy of the PP advocating a pact between the PSOE and Ciudadanos - King Felipe VI has been in the news this week as he celebrates 5 years on the throne following the abdication of his father Juan Carlos I. A significant part of that time has been spent attempting to oversee various attempts to put together workable governments, and that could yet prove to be the case again this summer, but in the meantime the King was able to escape the political manoeuvring for a while on Tuesday to be officially welcomed into the Order of the Garter by Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle.
Another item catching the eye in the Spanish news this week concerned a team of 10-year-old footballers in Málaga who won universal plaudits after stopping their match and pointedly turning their backs on the spectators, most of whom were their parents and other relatives, after violent arguments broke out in the stands. Duly chastised, the parents calmed down and watched their children win the international tournament in which they were taking part, but on this occasion it can truly be said that football was the winner!
In addition, the leaders of the last remaining terrorist group in Spain were arrested, and in Madrid the new Mayor controversially announced his expected indefinite suspension of the successful low emissions scheme in the city, raising the threat of EU sanctions if nitrogen oxide levels rise again. José Luis Martínez-Almeida’s justification of the move appears to be that congestion is “a part of life in Madrid”, and the city’s nightlife “goes hand in hand with traffic jams”.
Finally, a word on fake news being circulated on social network sites: the terrorist attack alert in Spain has NOT been raised to “severe”, as reported by The Daily Star and some expat publications on the Costas, and the deployment of 40,000 “extra” police and Guardia Civil officers to the main tourist destinations is NOT a reaction to an increased threat but merely the continuation of a strategy which has been implemented by the Ministry of the Interior for over a decade. The intention is to increase security at major tourist destinations and to attend to the victims of crimes such as theft more quickly and efficiently, thus reinforcing one of the most positive aspects of Spain’s image among foreign visitors.
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