Nothing threatens the Ibizan political oasis (except the next elections)

IbizaPolitics has become a risky activity in Spain, a permanent race to sustain improbable majorities, a task more suited to acrobats and movie stuntmen. People who wouldn't suffer from vascular problems under any circumstances. Even in Andalusia, the PP's majority has not withstood the wear and tear. Anxiety and balancing acts: this is also the general situation in the Balearic Islands. Except in Ibiza. On the most turbulent island in the Mediterranean, as modern as it is feverish, politicians live in a beneficial oasis: it is the magic of absolute majority. There is one year left until the next local and regional elections (the last ones were on May 28, 2023) and not a leaf stirs on a tree here. Certainly, in recent weeks Aena has livened things up a bit with its delirious proposal to expand the airport. But hey! We know what we're about here; in a couple of days, no one will remember Aena and its megalomaniacal dreams – which I have no doubt will be executed to a high percentage. The season is starting, and we have to make money for the whole year.

In Ibiza, the PP governs in 'God mode'. 'God mode' is a frequent option in video games, meaning the player has unlimited health points or some advantage that makes them virtually invincible. Video games and politics are very similar: in video games, you manage the life of a hero in an imaginary adventure; in politics, you manage other people's money according to a program based on conjectures.

In politics, 'God mode' is called absolute majority. The Ibizan absolutism of the PP (in Ibiza, the Popular Party only governs in the minority in Sant Josep; in the other four town halls and the Consell, they enjoy a broad absolute majority) not only has a soothing effect on Popular politicians; it has also been very satisfactory for the island's left, which practices transcendental meditation while waiting for their messiah or something similar to appear.

Decapitated by the absence of its historic leaders (Xico Tarrés opted out a long time ago, Pilar Costa is only a deputy in the Balearic Parliament, Josep Marí Ribas Agustinet has left Ibizan politics to preside over the PSIB), the Ibizan PSOE wanders through the corridors of an abandoned castle. The current general secretary, Vicent Rosselló Ribas, is very little known; the same goes for the spokesperson for the socialist group on the Consell, Elena López – a probable candidate, perhaps the figure the PSOE is trying to promote in Ibiza. Not many Ibizans would know them by sight.

We could say that the PSOE, in Ibiza, with only one year left until the elections, still has all the work to do. And well, what can we say about the 'left of the left' in Ibiza?, that multiplication of micro-parties (micro at least on an island scale) that who knows if they will be able to agree. A political sector where it also seems that one has to start from scratch every time there are elections.

It is not surprising that the left is a bit depressed, it must be recognized that things do not look good. The Sánchez government is more worn out than a hippy's mobylette; all they needed was for corruption to also soil Zapatero's tie, one of the few Spanish politicians who could still speak from a platform with a certain moral authority. Let's see which platform he will be invited to now. Zapatero was one of the main supporters and assets of the current PSOE. And the Ibiza socialists easily catch what happens in the rest of Spain. The PP of Ibiza, on the other hand, has deeper roots, especially in the countryside and in some municipalities; roots that make it more resistant to the wind blowing from the Peninsula. Or from Mallorca. Nevertheless, the left in Ibiza has a strategic advantage they should consider: they have nothing to lose. Or, in other words, they have a wide margin to take risks.

Political nap

’ and from part of the new voters, teenagers who think Franco was an old pizza chain. quality.

And Vox? Vox doesn't say a peep. For fear that if they said anything, they'd put their foot in it. Like a silent and effective predator, they wait to pick up the last votes from the disgruntled 'cowardly right-wingers' and from some of the new voters, teenagers who think Franco was an old pizza chain. Six seven bro. Kebabs only for Spaniards: that must be the national priority. Vox is the party with the clearest strategy and has it easiest: they don't have to do anything. After all, the PP's 'God mode' will surely expire in the next elections. Then it will be their time.

And now that we're talking about 'God mode', Bishop Vicent Ribas made one of the most interesting statements in recent times in the Pitiusas a few weeks ago. He made them in an interview with Diario de Ibiza. "As pastor of the Church of Ibiza, I appeal to the conscience of Christians; certain rents cannot be charged." Statements that have not gone unnoticed. Only the socialist Ana Juan had said something similar when she was president of the Formentera Council. The bishop is not wrong: the most effective way to solve the housing problem in Ibiza right now would be for people to have a bit of conscience. And these are symptomatic statements: having to invoke morality to resolve inequalities betrays the failure of politics.