The political world bids farewell to Celestí Alomar: "One of the great men of this homeland of ours"

PalmaThe death of former Minister of Tourism Celestí Alomar has shaken the political landscape of the Islands. The President of Congress, Francina Armengol, lamented the loss in statements to the media. "These are very sad moments because we have lost a great reference for the left," she said, and highlighted that Alomar "has contributed enormous baggage from an intellectual point of view, for the projection of a much more progressive society." She also bid him farewell personally, as she said she had lost "a great friend": "The honor we can do him is to continue with his way of thinking and feeling".

The President of the Government, Marga Prohens, also praised his figure as a "public servant, a man of firm convictions and always committed to the Balearic Islands". She also did so the leader of the Consell de Mallorca, Llorenç Galmés: "Mallorca loses a prominent figure from its political and public life". In a statement, the Government has advocated "her vocation of service and contribution to the debate and management of the Archipelago's main economic sector".

Born in Llubí in 1949, Alomar had an intense career as a deputy in the fifth and sixth legislatures of the Balearic Islands and a minister under the presidency of Francesc Antich (1999-2003). The socialist was a member of the PSIB until 2017, when he resigned to express his rejection of the application of Article 155 in Catalonia. In a statement, the party also expressed its condolences. "During his life journey, he defended values and an ethic that have made him a benchmark in the Balearic Islands," it stated: "One of the key figures for understanding the sustainable tourism model." Thus, it recalled that Alomar led the debate on the economic model of the Balearic Islands and defended the implementation of the ecotax despite the frontal opposition of the hotel sector. This tax has become today "an unquestionable element, a pioneering reference in the Balearic Islands and in many other tourist destinations in Spain." The PSIB candidate for the next regional elections, Rosario Sánchez, vindicated on Instagram the "brave ideas" of the former minister on a more sustainable tourism model: "Today they are more relevant than ever."

The leader of MÉS per Mallorca, Lluís Apesteguia, has also echoed the news. "Celestí Alomar, one of the great men of this homeland of ours, has left us," he lamented, in addition to highlighting that he was "founder of the PSIB, then a militant of the PSOE and finally of the progressive cause." "The hoteliers declared open war on him," he continued in a post on X: "However, his unshakeable loyalty was always with the country." The Obra Cultural Balear (OCB) has also made a publication in which it has highlighted Alomar's commitment to the language, culture, and territory, as he was a member and member of the entity's Advisory Council.

Sources from the Hotel Federation of Mallorca, an entity with which Alomar had an intense relationship due to the approval of the ecotax, also wanted to bid farewell to the politician. "From the FEHM and the ACH, we send our condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of Celestí Alomar. He was Minister of Tourism for the GOIB and a politician with diverse interests, beyond the tourism sector where he focused much of his activity," wrote the employers' association on social media.