The general elections enter at full speed into the Council plenary session and ignite the confrontation between the PP and Vox

PalmaThe general elections on November 29th burst into the plenary session of the Council of Mallorca this Thursday. The national political debate permeated two initiatives that, in principle, had a marked island character: the allocation of 1.8 million euros for the Majorcan Solidarity Fund and the creation of a commission to demand the return of the Costitx bulls. Both were approved, but they served to bring to light the differences between the PP and Vox, partners in government at the island institution.

The main clash occurred following the proposal to allocate 1.8 million euros from treasury surpluses to the Majorcan Solidarity Fund. The goal of the island government is to guarantee resources for the entity's ordinary operations, for the 2027 emergency fund, and for municipalist cooperation projects in countries such as Mali, Peru, and Burkina Faso, among others. Both initiatives were approved with broad or unanimous support, but they were also marked by an increasingly intense electoral confrontation, demonstrating that less than two months before the general elections, the struggle for the right-wing space has already fully reached the plenary hall of the Royal Palace.

Vox speaks of “looting” the taxpayers

The Minister of the Presidency, Antoni Fuster, has defended that the intention is for these resources to remain secured regardless of the outcome of the 2027 regional and island elections. “We want these funds to be available for the Majorcan Solidarity Fund, whatever happens in the elections,” he stated.

Vox's reply confirmed the rift between the two partners on this matter. The spokesperson for the party, Antoni Gili, asserted that his party does not believe in the Majorcan Solidarity Fund nor in the model of international cooperation it represents. “We do not believe in these pseudo-sewers, in certain actions parallel to governments to use taxes to take little trips and play the good Samaritan,” he stated. Gili asked how much the “plundering of the taxpayer” amounts to if the contributions of the 52 provincial councils of the State are added up, and he criticized the Council for allocating 1.8 million euros to projects outside of Spain.

“With this money, we want the bulls of Costitx to come, but we send our money overseas,” he quipped. The Vox spokesperson championed “national priority” and argued that resources should be concentrated on the residents of Mallorca, especially while there are people who cannot make ends meet or who live under the bridges of the beltway.

The reproaches intensified when Gili addressed Fuster directly: “If you want to be Foreign Minister, call Mr. Feijóo and tell him that your ego does not fit inside your body and that he should make you responsible for distributing public money all over the world except among the Majorcans.”

The PP defends cooperation as an “investment”

Fuster has rejected both the substance and the form of Vox's intervention. “We do not agree on this, I do not share their opinion, but I respect it. There are many ways to say things without talking about ‘pseudo-sewers’ or ‘distributors of public money’,” he replied.

The minister defended that the PP puts the people of Mallorca first and recalled that the Council allocates nearly half of the budget to the Mallorcan Institute of Social Affairs, in addition to the resources dedicated to roads and other island services. In contrast, the contribution to the Mallorcan Solidarity Fund represents approximately 0.2% of the budget.

“This is not an expense, it is an investment,” Fuster assured. According to the minister, cooperation projects allow for action in the countries of origin and prevent certain problems from ending up affecting Europe. “Everything we can solve there will not arrive here as a problem,” he stated, before lamenting that the Spanish government has not acted with the same foresight regarding the problems on the southern flank.

Fuster also championed the solidarity dimension of the State: “We feel proud to be Spanish, but throughout its history this country has also needed help from overseas.” Finally, he thanked MÉS and El Pi for having voted in favor “out of conviction” for the Mallorcan Solidarity Fund.

Gili insisted in his reply that the PP had “bought the damaged goods of left-wing policies” and had assumed their ideological framework. The Vox representative ended up demanding explanations about the final destination of the aid and asked the minister if he could ensure that “not a cent of the Mallorcans' money” had ended up in the hands of “Gaza terrorists”.

Cladera: “Mr. Galmés, stop acting as a co-pilot”

The tone used by Vox has provoked laughter in the seats of the island government, among them those of the president of the Council, Llorenç Galmés. The socialist spokesperson, Catalina Cladera, warned him that the matter “is not funny” and took advantage of the debate to accuse him of acting with forcefulness to approve millionaire contributions to Tirme, but not to defend social policies before Vox.

Cladera has maintained that a part of these resources ends up benefiting investment funds and has questioned the president's credibility. “We do not believe him. Mr. Galmés, stop acting as a co-pilot,” she retorted.

The PP spokesperson, Núria Riera, has defended that the island government “continues without moving a finger regarding its social commitments”. Riera has claimed a “moderate” executive, capable of reaching agreements with both the right and the left, a statement that has further accentuated the differences with Vox.

MÉS per Mallorca has announced its favorable vote, despite questioning the formula chosen by the island government. The eco-sovereignist formation has warned that it is not a simple credit modification and has linked the procedure with the discrepancies between the PP and Vox that had already become evident during the information commission. “We believe in the Majorcan Solidarity Fund. I believe that you also believe in it, but your partners do not”, stated MÉS addressing the PP.

The bulls of Costitx, second battlefield

The disagreement was echoed during the debate on the creation of a joint commission to negotiate the return, permanent or temporary, of the Costitx bulls. The proposal, stemming from a motion by El Pi, was approved unanimously and provides for bringing together the Council of Mallorca, the State government, the National Archaeological Museum, the City Council of Costitx, and the Museum of Mallorca.

The island's Minister of Culture and Heritage, Antònia Roca, lashed out at Pedro Sánchez's government for its failures in this matter and expressed hope that a future PP executive in La Moncloa would make the return of the pieces possible.

Vox, despite voting in favor of the commission, once again accused the Popular Party of adopting the tenets of the left and nationalism. Antoni Gili described the PP as a "wolf in regionalist sheep's clothing" and reproached the island government for executing an initiative by El Pi while keeping motions presented by Vox pending.

“You are the PP-PSOE. You are that great center-left coalition that will also lead us to ruin,” stated Gili. Roca replied that Vox was suffering from a "fit of jealousy" because the PP had accepted an El Pi initiative and accused them of turning a matter of heritage consensus into an electoral rally.

In his reply, Gili warned the PP that they cannot yet consider the elections won and accused them of "selling the bear's skin before catching it." The Vox councilor finished by lashing out harshly against the PSOE, whom he accused of being a "criminal left," of colluding "with the mafia bosses" to remove the judges investigating "their sewers." Catalina Cladera asked Llorenç Galmés to demand that the Vox spokesperson withdraw these expressions. The president, however, did not do so initially. Faced with Galmés's refusal, the socialist councilor Joan Ferrer raised a point of order: "We demand that the statement that we are criminals be withdrawn." Interrogated then by the president on whether he wished to rectify, Gili refused: "I stand by my words."

The PSIB demands protection from Galmés

The confrontation has ended up provoking a formal complaint from the socialist group against the president of the Council.

The socialist group has subsequently registered a complaint against Galmés for an alleged violation of the Organic Regulation of the Council. The PSIB maintains that the president did not interrupt or limit Gili's intervention and that, after he ratified his words, he did not take any other measures either.

The complaint invokes article 84.1.a of the regulation, which allows calling to order members of the corporation who utter offensive expressions against people or institutions, and article 28.4, which entrusts the Presidency to maintain order during sessions. The socialists demand that Galmés enforce the regulation, prevent new injurious interventions, and present public apologies to the group and the affected people.