Pedro Bestard, on the controversy of the Consell de Mallorca cars: "I want a public apology"

PalmThe second vice-president of the Consell de Mallorca, Pedro Bestard, appeared this Thursday before the Transparency Commission of the Consell de Mallorca to provide explanations on the use he has made of two vehicles of the island institution. But, beyond denying personal use, Bestard has not provided any specific information. He has explained, however, that his department is dispersed throughout the island and that this forces him to travel. "If I go from Manacor to Alcúdia and I have to stop to eat in Ses Torres, I will stop. Or in Es Cruce," he said at one point during his speech, during which he did not clarify whether he ordered the vehicles to be left without labeling, nor the routes, nor the kilometers he has driven, nor why two Consell cars were also seen spending the night in front of his house. On this occasion, Bestard arrived at the Consell in an official car with a chauffeur and demanded that, once the reports commissioned by President Llorenç Galmés are released, the left-wing parties apologize to him. "I want to be publicly apologized to," he snapped at the PSOE spokesperson, Catalina Cladera.

"I have made use of the chauffeur-driven car and the department's cars. It is clear that yes, I have the right. If I finish late, the car ends up at my house or in Son Pardo," assured the vice-president, who has read his interventions and has lost the thread on several occasions when trying to improvise. Despite admitting "part of the blame" for not having properly labeled the vehicles he used with the Consell's logo, Bestard has categorically denied having breached the regulations regarding the use of official vehicles. "It has been said about me that I am 'the hunter hunted'," he assured, referring to his well-known hunting hobby: "I have nothing to hide, I have not done it in bad faith".

In a subsequent attention to the media, Bestard admitted that he habitually used the official cars and kept them at home "or at the racetrack" until the next day, including on weekends. "On Saturdays and Sundays I go to the races, moreover, I always have activities related to the Consell," he justified. However, he acknowledged that he did not record the comings and goings of the vehicles anywhere nor did he specify most of these activities in the Consell's institutional agenda. From now on, he assured that the cars will be permanently branded and will spend each night at the General Riera headquarters.

PP and Vox close ranks with Bestard

During the appearance, only the PSOE and MÉS per Mallorca demanded concrete information from Bestard, while the spokesperson for El Pi, Antoni Salas, limited himself to requesting speed in the internal reports on the vice-president's comings and goings. "I ask you for the maximum possible explanations and clarity," he stated.

In contrast, the PP and Vox, who govern together in the island institution, have closed ranks with Bestard. The spokesperson for the popular party, Núria Riera (who was sanctioned for absenteeism last September), defended the "transparency and good governance" of the Consell. "The same Monday, the president [Llorenç Galmés] summoned Bestard, and reports were requested," he stated: the same day the controversy broke out. "We will not look the other way, we will act with prudence until we have all the information, but all necessary measures will be taken," he said, and he attacked the left for "trying to gain political advantage" from the situation.

However, various Vox sources suspect that the outbreak of the controversy comes from "friendly fire", as ARA Balears explained. An opinion that is also shared among the island councilors of the left, since Bestard, who resigned from his organic positions due to differences with the leadership of Vox, has a tense relationship with the spokesperson for the island group of Vox, Antoni Gili. Precisely, the person who has defended him in the appearance. After referring to the official position of his party in this regard, he has lashed out against "ferocious opposition" and "the sensationalism of the left". "Some intend to convey to citizens the idea that any use of public funds that is not done rigidly and bureaucratically constitutes an abuse, and that is not the case," he argued: "Management is complex".

"He doesn't answer the questions"

The PSIB spokesperson, Catalina Cladera, has asked Bestard a series of specific questions: among them, whether he "considers that he has breached the ethical code" or whether he "paid for the fuel" or not. Also, the spokesperson for MÉS per Mallorca, Catalina Inés Perelló, asked Bestard why he "had two official cars" parked at his home and if he "ordered the removal of the vehicle signage". Despite all this, the vice-president dodged them. "He does not answer the questions", Perelló reproached him. Both spokespersons have demanded his resignation.