Politics shouting in front of an empty chair

In the midst of a political drought in the Balearic Islands, we can summarize the week in just two words: Caribbean and war. The PSIB has seized upon the trip of the President of the Government, Marga Prohensin the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, and has not tired of repeating, often shouting, that the president is not in a catastrophic, terrible, apocalyptic moment for the Islands, affected by the crisis of the Iran war. The socialists have turned it into a mantra, but some journalists were about to bet on whether they would reach a hundred times or not.

"This week the Esplet closes and the president goes to the Caribbean" (Amanda Fernandez); "Affected people lose their homes and the government has no answer. Perhaps the president will look for it in the Caribbean" (Mercedes Garrido); "Prohens, the president who governs but doesn't rule and who is in the Caribbean" (Llorenç Pou"Now the problem for teachers is Catalan, perhaps because they can live here. It doesn't surprise me that Prohens is in the Caribbean" (Amanda Fernández); "Prohens should be here, leading this crisis. What's so urgent in the Caribbean?"Marc Pons); "When everything goes up, Prohens goes to the Caribbean" (Iago Negueruela"When the Spanish government approves measures on Friday, Prohens will be in the Caribbean" (Iago Negueruela); "She must know when to cancel a trip to the Caribbean" (Iago Negueruela)... And so on until even we want to flee the plenary hall and go to the Caribbean. It's true that perhaps this isn't the ideal time to travel overseas to enjoy a pleasant climate and Caribbean hospitality. But the compulsive repetition of a single argument can end up generating the opposite effect, besides being tedious.

The government's big move: to hold meetings

The rest of the Executive did little to help make it seem as though having Prohens away from the Balearic Islands wasn't such a serious problem. The Minister of Business, Self-Employment, and Energy, Alejandro Sáenz de San PedroHe continued in his nihilistic vein: "We are following the evolution of the conflict in Iran with concern"; "We are monitoring hydrocarbon and energy prices"; "We are maintaining contact with the affected sectors"; "We are assessing possible scenarios"; "May the situation be resolved as soon as possible"... These were some of the empty phrases he uttered in Tuesday's plenary session. There is a suspicion that Sáenz de San Pedro adheres to a maxim often attributed to Aristotle (though there is no written record of it): "We are masters of our silences and slaves of our words." Perhaps that is why he doesn't speak much and, when he does, strings words together in meaningless phrases.

Nor did the Vice President of the Executive and Minister of Economy, Finance and Innovation, Antoni Costa, address the issue, repeatedly stating that "the development of the conflict is uncertain," and that "meetings are being held with the agents involved"and that "the Government is together with the economic sectors and families"Too good. If they take so long to announce even a single measure when they're right next to each other, what would they do in the opposite situation?" Costa tried to dismantle the PSIB's argument about the PP's support for the war. "The Government has rejected the war in Iran from the very beginning," he said, with a confident tone, as if he had completely forgotten that his leader is in the United States and now simply wanders around the world out of sorts, an attitude he has a great deal of experience with.

The Vox MP Patricia de las Heras She had the honor of asking the surreal question of the week. The far-right representative wants to know what the citizens of the Balearic Islands will save with the repeal of the Democratic Memory Law. Costa didn't answer, nor did she make the effort to simulate giving anything resembling a response. If de las Heras had been better informed, she would have known that the PP (People's Party) wasn't applying this law, something that memorial organizations had denounced since the beginning of the legislature. So the savings must be substantial. Vox can be proud; its attack against the victims of Francoism has had zero impact on the organization and spending of the Government. That's what they call efficiency, isn't it?

On the other hand, we can't forget the Minister of Housing, Territory, and Mobility, José Luis Mateo, who, as every week, assures that he works hard to solve the housing problem in the Islands.

With thousands of families trembling at the thought of losing their homes due to lease renewals, Mateo's words offer little reassurance: "The Government is promoting the creation of more affordable and decent housing for citizens' life projects." It would be nice if, in addition to promoting things, he actually managed to implement them someday, if that's not too much to ask. "The housing problem keeps us up at night. We are very aware of it," the minister asserted without a laugh, while the laughter of left-wing members of parliament could be heard in the background. To conclude his remarks, the minister opted for a Castilian proverb (in case anyone hasn't noticed, Mateo never speaks in Catalan): "We are going to continue working along these lines to avoid a housing crisis. You, much ado about nothing"He said, in one of the moments when he seemed most self-assured. Of course, proverbs are useful for saying many things with few words, which is why they are a classic of popular culture.

The Minister of Labor, Public Service, and Social Dialogue, Catalina Cabrer, is also an expert in proverbs. But when it comes to sayings, she always uses Spanish."Don't count your chickens before they hatch." and "I give advice, but I don't take it myself.Those were the two gems that the last full house gave us. As they say, he who doesn't work when he's young, sleeps on straw when he's old.