“I, Llorenç Córdoba, as a public and private person, and as president of the Consell Insular de Formentera, representing all the women and men of this island, and without ascription to any political party, in these moments of political uncertainty, I seriously consider to stop supporting unconditionally the Balearic Government of the Popular Party”. LCM. Monday, November 27th, 2023 at 17:23 hours. So began a year ago the political crisis that seems to have no end in Formentera. We review in this interview with the president of the Consell de Formentera, Llorenç Córdoba (Ibiza, 1973), held last Saturday in his office of the first institution of the island. This veterinarian is undoubtedly the great protagonist of the story, where he will pass as an advanced student of the Resistance Manual of Pedro Sanchez. Despite the fact that anyone else would have gone home to warm the chair in the Parliament, he, against all odds, with all the opposition against him, remains firm in his positions. Like it more or like it less, he headed the candidacy that won the elections by absolute majority and feels legitimized to retain the stick of command. In addition, he maintains that he does not trust his fellow members of Sa Unió, an initiative of which he says he is the father: “It was a proposal of mine in 2018”. He was wrong to ask for a bonus with which to supplement his income, an issue that he does not shy away from, like no other, and that a year later is amortized.
“The pact was made between the parties and I headed the candidacy. There were people who joined”, he says in this exclusive interview with La Voz de Ibiza, and adds: “During those four years of opposition we tried to do things differently because the previous ones had not worked”.
- The President of the Consell de Formentera denounces corruption, mafia practices and conspiracies in the consistory.
- Cordoba and the crisis of governance: threats, failed protests and the political game on Formentera
- Hidden interests and controversial licenses: the Formentera coastline scandal
“What we had to do was to show that we were propositional, that we not only knew how to criticize, but that we also knew how to do things. That is to say, we had to show that we could govern, because until then we were the cracks of the opposition, I mean, people voted for us to be in the opposition. What we had to prove was that we were good for something else”, he starts. “And we won by absolute majority, otherwise we would not have governed.”
The beginning of the crisis in Formentera
-Although elections are lost more by those in power than by those who come from the opposition, people believed the message that Sa Unió could govern. However, they have quickly shown that it was not so, because the crisis they have mounted is historic.
-From the first day I noticed that there was a kind of resistance, I didn’t feel the support of my own colleagues. It seemed that they were going one way and I was going another. I thought it could be mistrust because I was president and also a deputy and I could not spend so much time with them, who were always together. They had meetings without me in the afternoon, after having met with me in the morning. I found that out later. It is clear to me that from the first day Sa Unió had in mind that I should not continue as president.
-Until it all blew up with the November 27 message.
-Exactly. I made a comment that I think is valid today in which I warned that I was considering to stop supporting the PP unconditionally. And I think that this is not serious because the unconditional support was never there, since we signed an investiture pact and thanks to my vote it was not necessary the favorable vote of Vox for Marga Prohens to be invested president. With my vote in the investiture, we had already fulfilled the agreement. The Govern had to comply with the 20 points we had agreed. In Sa Unió they took advantage of this fact, which in another situation would not have had more importance, to say: “This is ours”, and try to throw me out. Later we knew that Alcaraz, before that day, had recorded me in the president’s office, had recorded a conversation between the two of us, right here, as we are today. They were making my bed. He recorded a conversation of a meeting to which I had summoned him because I saw that things were not going well, that it was obvious that we were not working as a team and I wanted to talk to him about it. Then he redirected the conversation to what he was interested in, which was to try to catch me on salary issues and things of that kind. The recorded conversation was on November 5 and that phrase I said was not uttered until November 27: they were already attacking me and were preparing the ground to get rid of me. Since August, the vice-president at that time, Verónica Castelló, was already saying that she had a grudge against me and that she did not support or trust me. That shows that I did not provoke this situation, that they were waiting for anything to activate the machinery to throw me out. The result has been poor: it has not worked for them and I really think it has hurt them more than me.
-Do you regret sending that message?
-No. No, no, not at any time.
-What are your regrets?
–Iregret having brought Sa Unió to power.. De eso sí me arrepiento, porque eso sí es responsabilidad mía. No ganaron las elecciones por mayoría absoluta sólo por mí, eso está claro, pero, la realidad es que llevaban más de 20 años sin gobernar y yo fui el que encabecé la candidatura que ganó por mayoría absoluta. Eso lo lamento, pero no me siento culpable porque yo no sabía lo que iba a venir después de la victoria.
Without a Governing Board, without vice-presidents and with only two councilors in the government, the Consell de Formentera cannot function…
-The Consell cannot work with me and Artal Mayans. In the last mandate there were 11 councilors and it did not work very well either, otherwise they would not have lost. The issue is not that I have a better or worse time, the problem is that the institution cannot work like this. Options, I think I have proposed quite a few. First, that Sa Unió returns, that they make at least a Governing Board; if not, that they return with the others. If they do not want to do so, I have opened my hands to the other political parties so that we can form a Governing Board where the one who would have less strength would be the president, because I only have one vote, and they could control me and approve what they want or do not want, but the Consell could work. But it seems that nobody is interested in making the Consell work. And I do not want to blame, as Sa Unió has done, the opposition for not doing anything. But, in the end, we have all got into politics and we are all here to serve the people. If the people need it, there has to be a Governing Board. The other day, in the demonstration, it was what they wanted to ask for, but someone said to remove it. And that took energy away from the demonstration, because what is really important and what we need to move forward is a Governing Board. Even vice presidents are not that necessary. If there are no vice presidents it is not so serious either, only that I cannot spend the night outside Formentera. The people who have caused this situation, that there is no Governing Board, have been Sa Unió. They are the ones who resigned and those who continue to prolong the situation. And now, on the 20th it will be six months and Sa Unió is still the problem, and they are the ones who do not solve the problem.
-Here I have to say one thing. I felt disappointed with your secretary when he told me that I could not refuse to sign the resignation of the councilors of the Governing Board. Because before he had told me that I could, and besides, the Rules of Procedure clearly state it: it has to be accepted by the president.
The legal advisor that I have here as president is the secretary, he is the highest legal body of the councils. Before, he had always told me that the ROC said that, I understood it that way, I think that anyone who reads it will understand it that way, and then he told me no, that I could not refuse… Precisely, I raised it to avoid the current situation.
Now, in addition, all the documents clearly state “resignations accepted by the president” and it looks like a mockery. It is like saying “look, you did this, which you should not have done, and now we will remind you of it in every document”. So, at this moment we feel disappointed by the action and the attitude taken by the secretary, because if it had not been for this, there would still be a Governing Board.
-What has Llorenç Córdoba done wrong?
-Uff… Many things, but I stress: I don’t regret having said that sentence because they would have prepared something else, perhaps more elaborate, to throw me out… Things I have done wrong? Of course, no one could help it. Maybe I have trusted people too much. Soy mal político en ese sentido. ¡Qué inexperto!
-Now he has a master’s degree….
-Exactly. I’ve had a master’s degree for a year and I’ve learned a lot. I believed people who were my colleagues and who told me that they trusted me at all times. When I asked if there was a problem, because I could see it, they told me no, that we were all nervous because we were new, and I also believed them.
Was I too naive? No, the word is uglier: I was naïve. in all of this. That’s true, I recognize that. I didn’t want to do a dictator type of leadership. I wanted everyone to be able to collaborate in what they knew best. For example, I have always recognized that (José Manuel) Alcaraz was a pillar of the government because of his experience and knowledge.I also proposed that he should be spokesman and also vice-president, although the PP already had a vice-presidency. In addition, I proposed that he should be spokesman and also vice president, although the PP already had a vice presidency. I practically gave him the management of the Consell so that I could act as president, deputy and take care of the departments that had been assigned to me. Now we understand why they assigned me the one of the Litoral, against what I wanted.
Those are the things I may regret, that I didn’t do what I didn’t want to do: to have been more of a dictator. But I don’t know if that would have helped or not. I do see that in politics, or at least within this administration, it seems that you have to be shouting and ordering things in a bad way to be listened to. A “please, could you do this?” takes a lot to make it work.
-Why were you entrusted with the Coastal Department?
-I offered to take over the Primary Sector because it is related to my profession. Curiously, no one wanted to take on Litoral. which was the most problematic, it was the most complicated to solve and partly thanks to the one that Sa Unió had won in the elections, the competition for the beaches, s’Estany des Peix. And after three meetings in which we did not advance, I decided to keep it. I asked for an insular director because it was evident that I could not manage everything. Now I think that they wanted put me in the bull’s eye, between a rock and a hard place. They were already prepared. What they wanted was for me to sign the kiosks.. Como sabían que no se podían firmar los quioscos, sería el puntapié para que me echen como presidente. Es decir, The reason was to use the Coastal Department to do something that was not supposed to be done and to throw me out in that way.
“Economic and personal interests for my chair.”
-Why did they want to throw him out? What hypothesis has surely been formulated on more than one occasion?
-It doesn’t seem to be a political reason, nor a personal one. I recognize that I never got along well with Alcaraz, but there is no need to go out for drinks every day to work together in a government, it was a necessary evil. I tolerated him during the years we were in the opposition, when he was not so active because he was working and was not even a councilor. So, I don’t think it is a personal issue. Is it an issue because of something I have done? Let them prove it and so far they have not proved it. They say that I am a devil, that I coerced or tried to coerce the president of the Balearic Government, that I asked for things in exchange for favors or votes or whatever. That I am a chauvinist. That I am a liar… Why don’t they ask me to resign as a deputy in the Parliament? I am not good enough to be president, but I am good enough to be a deputy. It doesn’t make sense. They want the chair. The only thing they are interested in is the chair and the signature of president. Therefore, by elimination, I do not see that it is a political issue, I do not see that it is a personal issue, so it is clear to me that it is an issue of interests.
-What kind of interests?
-It may be personal interests of ego. There is a man (José Manuel Alcaraz) who has always said that his dream was to be president of the Consell. He is on the wrong track to achieve it. And the other thing that remains is an economic interest. Direct or indirect, above all parties. That’s why I don’t like to be in parties, there are always people who command from behind.
-Who is in charge in Sa Unió?
-It will come out. We have an advantage, we already have the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office inside the Consell… I am very happy with that, and they will be the ones who will say who is behind it. I may have my suspicions that there are interests and economic powers stronger than party ideas. – Whatpressures did you receive to take certain decisions that you rejected?
-Perhaps I did not refuse, but they did direct things towards certain interests and when it was not what was convenient for them, they said “this cannot be done”, or “what should be done is something else”. Licenses…
-What decisions are you referring to?
-There are a few hotel projects in Els Pujols, for example. At the time, Urbanism, Infrastructures and Territory told us that we had to give all the licenses. And right now, I suspect that this is one of the cases that responds to a particular economic interest.
No I understood the comment at the time. Of those licenses there is one that could not be granted, although it could perhaps be approved at a later date. It was not so clear that we had to approve all licenses.
There is also the license published by La Voz de Ibiza. I corroborate all the information they have published(about the express license to the Caminito), some aspects were unknown to me. I congratulate you for the work you do.
Surplus salary
-We will talk about this license later. What do they do with the Parliament’s allocation?
-The money of the Parliament is in an account. When I have to spend something to cover my parliamentary activity, I spend it from there. If not, they are not spent.
-So you have not taken advantage of the fact that you have been expelled from Sa Unió to grant yourself a bonus?
-No. This account is audited. A separate issue is what the parties do with the resources they receive. I have them in an account and right now there is quite a large amount because they are there and I don’t touch them. I buy papers, I buy folders, things that I might need, cabs that the per diem does not cover…. What the Parliament does not pay me.
And I have always said that I was willing to pass on to Sa Unió the part of the 2,700 euros at least that was not necessary to cover my parliamentary activity. I don’t want an apartment in Palma and I don’t want to buy a car with that money.
-Is Llorenç Córdoba sleeping well?
-No, of course not, although I am very calm about what I have done and what I am doing. N I do not sleep peacefully because I am seeing the damage that is being done to the Consell de Formentera and the island of Formentera, and that really worries me.
You are co-responsible for the mess.
-No: I am the person in charge. We will see if, as the person in charge, I can fix it or not. I cannot clone myself to make a government meeting. They tell me: “The easiest thing is for you to resign”. That means initiating a procedure to award the presidency to someone else and maybe at that moment I would sleep worse. The easiest thing is for Sa Unió to return to the Governing Board. It is very easy, and it is the right thing to do, because Sa Unió won the elections. It is curious, but it has not yet presented any project, just beg, on their knees and crying, the opposition to help them make a motion of censure. Let them say, we will present this candidate and we will do this? The only thing they want is to get me out of the chair, and when they get me out of the chair, they will fight among themselves and among the other parties. But, for the moment, what nobody is interested in is that I am the president.
-Going back to the personal situation, have you needed therapy?
-No. Although we could all use some help, but it hasn’t affected me in that sense.
Resignation
–At any time have you considered resigning? –At first, almost every day.
-Since when do you no longer think about it?
-I keep thinking about it…
-Still?
-Yes. It’s the easy way out. Sometimes I think about it, but then I think about the consequences and I forget about it. But, personally, I think it would be worse to leave the Consell in the hands of these people who have shown what they are capable of doing against a person in order to get to power and who do not care about the people in order to harm that person? I cannot leave the Consell in the hands of these people. I would be better off just as a deputy. In the Parliament there is less work and you get paid more. There they treat me fantastic and I would be much better off. So it would be the easy way out. And the first day, I would surely meet with a lot of applause, but the next day I would not sleep peacefully. It is not the same as Pedro Sánchez when he said he would not sleep with Podemos in the government. In this case, the only one to blame for Sa Unió governing would be me. I brought them to power and I cannot cede control to them. And I cannot do that again. I would be repeating it to myself constantly.
The contradiction of governing with the enemy
-There is a contradiction in his story. I simplify: Sa Unió is the devil, it should not govern, we have relevant issues such as the license of the Caminito, the award at all costs of the kiosks, the expiration of the special plan, the incompatibility of Javier Serra, they recorded a conversation, they invented that they had requested a report to the secretary to remove him and it was a lie, they invented that they had requested a report to the Lawyer of the Autonomous Community and it was a lie, among other things and without prejudice that more come out, such as the licenses of es Pujols of which you speak to me… You, however, continue to clamor, pleading, to return to the Governing Board.
-That’s right. It is not simple, but it has an explanation: the priority for Formentera is to be able to govern. Better, worse, whatever. Even legally, we need a Governing Board. Without a government board, we can’t do anything. That I should give in against what I would like, against my interests, and accept that these people return to govern? I have no problem, I have always said so. It is the lesser evil at this time. I would prefer to govern with other people who are for the people of Formentera. I am not saying that many of the actions they do are not in favor of the people of Formentera. I would even say that most of them are, except in Alcaraz which is something else. Besides, the people have elected all of us. They have not elected only me, they have elected all of us. So, what I have to do is to follow the will of the people. And the will of the people is that they return to government with us. At the very least, and what is urgent now, is that there are at least three people who form the Governing Board.
