Thursday, October 25, 2012

The Ministry Of Unhealth

What on earth is going on at the Balearics health ministry? To lose one health minister may be regarded as a misfortune. To lose a second one within three months looks like carelessness.

I can't think when I have used Lady Bracknell before in referring to a ministerial merry-go-round in the Balearics. Or can I? Ah yes, the tourism ministers who were regularly passing through the revolving door with a corruption exit (except Ferrer, the last of the Unió Mallorquina fun tourism three in the last government, who had to go because the whole of the UM was shown the door).

There is nothing like the same reason as to why the Partido Popular has lost Carmen Castro and now Antoni Mesquida in unseemly short order. There is a same reason, but not the same one as with the tourism ministers. This same reason is personal. Mesquida has followed Castro in citing personal reasons. Oh pull the other one.

President Bauzá says that he doesn't believe that Mesquida has walked as a result of budgets. Which probably means that this is exactly why he has gone. He has been replaced by Martí Sansaloni Oliver. Any bets on how long it is before he develops personal reasons? Hmm, not sure, he has been the director general for pharmacies and budgetary control. Which sounds as though he might be just the person Bauzá has been looking for.

There are all manner of odd things happening health wise. None of them really to do with health as such. Pensioners from the IB-Salut public health agency in the Balearics did a sort of sit-in protest this morning in a meeting room at the health ministry. They are upset at the loss of up 40% of their monthly pension, which sounds as though they have good reason to protest.

The pensioners are one thing, another is the ongoing row about allegations regarding President Bauzá and his pharmacy business. PSOE is now demanding to know how much his pharmacy has billed IB-Salut for over the past few years. This sounds like one for the pharmacy and budgetary control expert who has now been parachuted into the health minister's job. Good luck, Sr. Sansaloni.

It is of course just possible that personal reasons are the genuine reason, though the equation of same ministry and three months apart does make one slightly suspicious that they might not be the reason. Moreover, there isn't really a great tradition of citing reasons other than personal ones for resigning, not just in the Balearics health ministry but also in Spain as a whole. How about Esperanza Aguirre, president of Madrid? Now no longer president of Madrid. With a tearful farewell, she resigned in September (personal reasons and a previous serious illness), seemingly set for quieter days with family and being retired to graze. Then, lo and behold, barely 48 hours had passed and she was getting her feet under the table with a nice little earner at the Turespaña national tourism agency.

It all points, I'm afraid, to hints of a lack of transparency. Mesquida's resignation will be seen as being for any reasons other than personal. There really needs to be a bit more fronting up and telling it how it is, but lack of transparency is a Spanish way.

Meantime, the Balearics health ministry, subject to major cuts, heavily in debt lurches from one crisis to another. If it isn't a minister resigning, it is a hospital director. It is a most unhealthy situation.


Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.

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