The day Bestard spoke without knowing what to say

PalmaThe second vice-president of the Consell de Mallorca, Pedro Bestard, appeared this Thursday to clarify the use he has made of two vehicles from the insular institution. But the appearance served above all to confirm one thing: that Vox considers it a sufficient explanation to say that Bestard does a lot of work and travels to many places in Mallorca. Wanting to know what two public vehicles were doing —without the label identifying them as such— parked in front of his house is nothing more than a strategy by the left to wear down the PP government and the far-right, according to the spokesperson for Vox on the Council, Antoni Gili. Denying that a Subaru and a Dacia, which should be used for institutional tasks, have been used personally is already, apparently, providing explanations.

And if that is not enough, there is always the recourse of victimhood. Bestard may have stopped at some party event between commitments, but he would have done so —according to his version– for a matter of temporal efficiency and public resources. And yes, perhaps the cars slept in front of his house. But it must not be forgotten that, as the spokesperson for Vox in Parliament, Manuela Cañadas, recalled, Bestard is a person who works from sunrise to sunset and to whom, of course, one cannot demand to "come to Palma, park and go back."

Bestard's appearance seemed more like a farce than a political ritual. The vice president struggled to read the prepared statements and often stumbled. Furthermore, when he deviated from the planned script, he found it difficult to argue agilely and peppered his words with uncomfortable silences, while those present looked at each other in astonishment.

"If I finish late, the car ends up at my place or at Son Pardo", "The vehicles have a magnetic sign that can be placed or not", "Someone would do well to stop being a politician and make narratives and movies", "A photo at a specific moment is not a complete story", "If I go from Manacor to Alcúdia and I have to stop for lunch at Ses Torres, I will stop there. Or at Es Cruce", "The staff is impeccable"; "When I return, depending on the time, yes, [the car] stays at our place. Is that a sin?", "I have an advantage, I have no social life. I don't even go out in my own car", "A Dacia... And Sánchez travels by Falcon for private activities", "I want a public apology", "The newspaper published 'hunted hunter', and I don't know why", "I am 55 years old, and I will not be intimidated by falsehoods". These were just some of the memorable phrases from an appearance that oscillated between justification, victimhood, and an improvised monologue.

At a certain point, Bestard also claimed his work over these three years as vice-president of the Council. The summary, however, remained somewhat scattered: “I have homologated the GR-222 route, I have done the Camino de Santiago, more trot races, sports activities, may the Spanish language return to the house, that five years of residence must be accredited to receive aid…”

Neither Catalina Cladera (PSIB) nor Catalina Inés Perelló (MÉS per Mallorca) received answers to their questions. The appearance therefore ended without clarifying why two unmarked Council cars were parked in front of his house; why the identification was ordered to be removed; how many times Bestard had used them to go to Vox events; how many nights they had slept in front of his house; if he filled out the usage logs; who paid for the fuel; how many kilometers they had traveled; if the president, Llorenç Galmés, was aware of it, nor what political responsibility he would be willing to assume.

The spokesperson for the PP, Núria Riera, did not miss the opportunity to claim the island government's transparency almost as if it were a historical exception. She also called for prudence. Not so much for Bestard as for the rest. “We will not prejudge him,” she remarked, while Antoni Gili nodded with satisfaction. “The PP will not look the other way, Mr. Bestard. But we will act with prudence until we have the reports,” she added.

Riera regretted that the opposition asked for explanations from the popular side of the government, as if the Vox vice-president were a satellite disconnected from the rest of Galmés's team. "To try to transfer this to the entire government is a political strategy. They are more concerned with making noise than with seeking the truth," she lamented. The representative of El Pi, Antoni Salas, did not go beyond expressing the pain that the harm done to politicians by controversies like this causes him. "Public servants must not only be honest, but appear to be. It's that old saying about Caesar's wife," he commented.

The Parliament, in a phase of erosion

Exit the controversy surrounding Bestard to bring a little life to the political landscape, because Tuesday's Parliament session was above all a confirmation that the Chamber has entered a phase of wear and tear and that the remaining year of the legislature does not promise great surprises beyond the processing of the strategic projects law. The parties are turning in on themselves and looking more at themselves than outwards.

To summarize: the Minister of Housing, Territory and Mobility, José Luis Mateo, continues to work hard, as every week, to improve public transport and achieve affordable housing for all citizens of the Balearic Islands, even if it is not noticed; the Minister of Health, Manuela García, assures that the Government "manages as it has never been done before", despite the saturation, the waiting lists and the controversies, such as that of the coordinator of the Manacor health center; the Minister of Tourism, Jaume Bauzà, continues to celebrate that limits have been set, despite the fact that tourists continue to increase, and assures that de-seasonality is a marvel; Vox continues to exhibit its obsessions with Catalan and migrants; and the President of the Government, Marga Prohens, tries to ensure that the far-right does not go too far because it is necessary to hold out until 2027 without scares. We will always have the Consell de Mallorca.