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FRIday 7TH dECEMBER 2018
would be involved. The complex adjoins the protected, natural park of the Serra Gelada and is located only a few metres from the ocean, which could also cause damage to marine fauna and flora. The two buildings actually infringe the coastal law boundaries by a mere four metres, which gives owners of Gemelos 28 hope that the demolition decree will not be executed.One resident, speaking to the Spanish press dismissed the speculation as nonsense, “For the moment, nobody from the Administration has contacted us to talk about the compensation that would correspond to us”. “The boundaries could be modified to avoid this ridiculous situation,” he said expressing his opinion that “the line demarcation could be adjusted or whatever, but we all have to find a solution,” pointing out that once demolished, the towers could actually be rebuilt four metres further back from the sea completely legally. This fact was backed up by regional councillor for urban planning, Lourdes Casselles, who told reporters that, “there is no urban problem to rebuild in the area.” Furthermore, should the developer re-submit plans for the development with four metres difference, “all the permits and licenses to build are in place, providing construction respects with the public domain and the established buildability of the project,” said the Casselles.
Far right first A NEW far-right political party, Vox, won 12 seats in Andalucia’s regional elections on Sunday, as the largest party, the PSOE Socialists, lost seats and will have a tricky task to form an administration. It’s the first time since Spain’s military dictatorship under Francisco Franco ended in 1975 that a far-right party has won seats in a Spanish regional election. Vox has been derided as farright and populist, anti-immigrant and anti-Islam but its leader Santiago Abascal believes its recent surge of support is because it is “in step with what millions of Spaniards think”. The PSOE’s party’s all-time Andalucia low of 28 per cent and 33 seats mean it will not be able to govern with a majority, even with the support of the Left-wing
by Alex Trelinski
coalition Adelante Andalucia, which includes Podemos. The centrist Ciudadanos party increased their vote and number of seats, and have said that they will not get involved with a PSOE-led coalition. With the Socialists weakened in a region they have governed since Franco’s death and which they could now lose to a right-wing coalition, the Andalucia result could now pave the way for a farright surge at a national level. A series of local, regional and European elections take place at the end of May, amidst recent speculation that Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez of the PSOE might call a general election at the same time, to boost his minority government.
Poster furore
THE Cultural Association of Calpe (ACEC) is considering making an official complaint about a Town Hall sanctioned advertising poster that takes up a huge part of the cities ancient arched wall. They have described the poster as a desecration and
by Simon Russell
have started a social media survey of residents to gauge their views. If enough people are against the hoarding then they will lodge an official denuncia. The advert is for
Calpe’s New Years party, sponsored by the Town Hall. Embarrassingly for them last year the same event also caused controversy over the amount of taxpayers money spent on it including wine, flowers, red carpets and banks of TV sets.
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Photo: The offending poster in Calpe