Bill Anderson – Voices From Above

VOICES FROM ABOVE

I’m over it. The elections that is. From this point on, I accept my lot and the lot of Mijas, but I am out of it. I had a conversation this week with an interested resident about  the independence of otherwise of the local political parties. Bottom line is that there is very little. All of the parties in power in Mijas and all of those in opposition are hierarchical. What does that mean? Quite simply that they are not at liberty to work solely for the needs of the municipality, but must pay heed to the messages from the upper ranks of the Provincial, Regional and National  parties, and often just follow the orders, or else.

In Mijas, Ana Mata, an Andalucian Parliamentarian, was slotted into the PP list on the orders of the Provincial Party. Actually, I think she was a good addition. A smart lady with political experience and a lot to contribute, but still at the instructions of the higher levels. At least she is a Mijas resident which is more than can be said for some of the councillors.

The shenanigans of the Ciudadanos Party during the 2015 legislature was on the instructions of the National party: “get rid of political opponents by wrapping them up in court cases for years”.

The latest example of this was from what we thought was an independent party, “Por mi Pueblo” which got one seat in the person of Juan Carlos Maldonado. Maldonado decided to cast his vote with PSOE and Ciudadanos, and now the party which sees itself leaning more to the right than to the left, wants him to be expelled and for him to be installed as a councillor without a party “no adscrito”. In his investiture he was cited as Por mi Pueblo, but the higher ups n the party are not at all happy with him and he may yet have to leave the party or be pushed out. It all depends on whether the powers that be see more value in getting rid of him or his adding to their toll of seats regionally.

Having never been involved in party politics before, I can’t say whether it is the same in the UK or in other countries, but I suspect it is.

“So, just go independent,”  they told me.  Not an easy task in Spain where only registered political parties can stand in the elections and in Mijas, 25 people have to be presented on the list. Maybe for a younger person, but I neither have the energy nor the ambition to go in that direction.

The voices that determine the direction of political parties should come from the people and not from above.  Parties don’t pay councillors’ salaries, the people do, and when parties get involved it is usually as a form of political chess, where moves are exchanged for later favours in the lucrative unelected bodies such as the Mancomunidad and Diputación where salaries can reach over 70,000 euros.

I once asked a Mayor if he had to choose between his party and the wellbeing of the people which would he choose? His silence said it all. The voices from above were louder than the voices from the ballot box. This is what we call democracy.