POLITICS
It’s a chicken and egg
question, isn’t it? Are cheats and criminals attracted to politics or does
becoming a POLITICIAN corrupt?
Tenerife is divided
into PRINCIPALITIES, based on the ancient Guanche kingdoms. They equate roughly
to counties in England – subject to central government but with some autonomy.
Each Principality has its own Cabildo (Council) and Alcalde (Mayor) and
Ayuntamiento (Town Hall) and a council of elected representatives.
We live in Arona and as
foreigners with Residencias we can vote in the local elections. The first time
there was an election we studied all the bumph and voted as we thought
appropriate. Since those early days
we have learned it's not worth the bother, and smile cynically when the hoardings go up – huge things with space carefully
divided between the PARTIES, lots for the biggies and tiny slivers for the
also-rans.
There’s always a flurry of PRE-ELECTION activity – roads are repaired
(or actually finished!) PUBLIC gardens get new PLANTS and trees, street lamps
get bulbs. Then the candidates come round the bars and stand looking sheepish
while a PR girl explains who they are. One year everyone got a free lighter.
Once we went to a
nearby campsite where a candidate was hosting a free barbecue – great slabs of
beef were cooking on old metal bed-frames over fire-pits, huge saucepans of Canarian
POTATOES were bubbling, there was a token bowl of salad on every table, and
barrels and barrels of wine. We even got to speak to the candidate himself, and he told us that he was in favour of English residents. We voted for him simply
because he’d made the most effort – it was as reliable a way as any other of picking our man, though he was PROBABLY as corrupt as the rest.
Whole Councils have
been sacked and/or PROSECUTED for corruption. Land designated as Agricultural
land suddenly acquires a building PERMIT and you know there's a brown envelope involved. The first sign of any Cabildo PROJECT starting
is a board telling us how much it will cost, to the last centimo. The work stops and starts, the contractors change,the PLANS are altered, and it all ends up costing ten times the original quote - if it's finished at all.
So a PLAGUE on all Politicians.
PENSIONERS ABROAD
I read a remark by one
British politician that included the PHRASE, “These rich expats living in their
luxury villas, playing golf and drinking sangria.” That was his excuse for
trying to deny us the same rights as “POOR PENSIONERS in England”. PERHAPS you
agree with him?
Well, we’re not all
rich. The OH and I live in an apartment in a block of eighty identical ones, in
a small town composed mainly of such blocks. We couldn’t afford to play golf at
€100 a round even
if we wanted to, and we both hate sangria.
The truth is that we
moved here because of a lack of money, not an excess of it. After a nightmare
of debts in England we’re managing nicely now. There’s enough to PAY the bills,
run a small car, eat out once a month, and drink cheap wine. And of course there's the sun - except in the winter months when we get a cold wind off the mountain and need our electric fire. The Tourist Board don't want you to know about that! :Last month the OH was wearing a jumper even in the sun.
Some pensioners are
worse off than we are. Most of their income goes on rent – no housing benefit
here – and they get their clothes from flea markets. They couldn’t afford a
flight home to avail themselves of the Welfare State even if they wanted to.
Yes, we chose to come
here, but that’s no excuse to regard us as deserters. We PAID into the British
system – there are many PEOPLE still living out here who fought for it – and we are only asking
to be given our due and treated equally.
PEPPER TREES are
so PRETTY – here’s a PHOTO I took this week. It's laden with bunches of tiny pink peppers - the kind used to make a pepper sauce - millions and millions of them just falling to the ground to be raked up and dumped.
And this PLANT is a lantana. They come in a variety of colours, mostly two-tone. I have seen yellow and white, orange and yellow, red and orange, but this is pink, white and yellow. I
took a cutting of one back to UK years ago and it grew to a sizeable bush – and it survived
the English winter under a blanket of snow!
I can see exactly why you wrote this and I whole heartedly agree with you. I found it expensive to live in the UK that's why I moved to Spain albiet for only three years., due to family illness.
ReplyDeleteEngland has gone downhill year by year,
I enjoyed and was interested what you wrote.
Yvonne.
I like the sound of the BBQ with token salad!
ReplyDelete'Morning Liz!
ReplyDeleteWell a rant it maybe but you are echoing the thoughts of many of us old gits whether we live in the UK or Tenerife.
I'd love to move there or Spain. How much is a flat where you are? You work your socks off in this country and get nothing. It's getting worse, what with the high energy bills and petrol prices. I alreay speak Spanish so would be ok I think.
ReplyDeleteAnother interesting post. I love learning about your part of the world! And please do visit Fort Collins sometime :-)
ReplyDeleteUgh, politicians. We've got a plague of them. Some of them no doubt want to do right. Others are on a power trip for sure.
Very interesting post; I always enjoy reading and learning more about different areas and how things are run there, politically, etc. I think you found the best fit for what works for you by choosing to live there :)
ReplyDeletebetty
Thanks for this great refreshing post. And I'm SOOOOOOO glad you highlight the corruptness of Spanish politicians. I live in Greece and get FED UP with the rest of Europe bleating about 'those currupt Greeks', like it's all Greece's fault.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a pensioner (yet!) but I tell you what, the quality of life in a Southern European country is SO much better than in the UK, autocratic Germany or Northern Europe.
Thank God the Southern Europeans know how to LIVE life! And why do I choose to live in Greece? Well, to be honest I prefer being surounded by coffee drinking Greeks than beer swilling Brits. I don't think I'll ever be one of those expats who doesn't mix with the locals.
Happy A-Zing.
Bex
www.leavingcairo.blogspot.com
oh don't even get me started on politics...I have no patience for any of them!
ReplyDelete