The mayor of Santiago, Goretti Sanmartín, announced this Friday that the municipal executive will appear "on its own initiative" at the ordinary plenary session in September to report on the arrival of Fly2Galicia. The announcement comes after the controversy generated by the establishment of this tour operator and the criticisms made by the opposition in recent days.
It was the PSOE candidate for the mayoralty, Pedro Blanco, who advanced on Wednesday that his group would request this appearance. Sanmartín described this move as a last "ridiculous" episode, considering Blanco's position as Government delegate. "He knows or should know that the contact with Fly2Galicia came to us through Aena. I don't know if Aena sounds familiar to him," the mayor stated in an appearance before the media.
Among her criticisms, the mayor pointed out that she perceives "some deficient coordination" within the central Executive and urged Blanco to ask "in his own house" before making demands "where he has no authority to do so," reminding that, although he is the socialist candidate for the mayoralty, he does not belong to the municipal group. "He should make sure to ask several ministries, lest one say one thing and another say another," she added.
Sanmartín reiterated that it is the state agencies linked to air traffic and the central Government itself who "authorize or deauthorize flights, routes, and uses" at Spanish airports. "Certainly not the municipal administration," she emphasized, marking distances with local competencies.
One of the main reproaches from the opposition focuses on the fact that the City Council initially stated that it had been "helping" Fly2Galicia for "months." When questioned about that expression, the mayor defended that it is "the whole truth" and explained that, once the notice was received through Aena, conversations were held as is done "usually." "From Santiago Tourism, the work that is done exclusively by Santiago Tourism was carried out. And I believe it is well done work," she concluded.
In the same line, she has spoken out when asked about the words of the Minister of Consumption, Pablo Bustinduy, who referred to the embargo law against Israel. According to Sanmartín, that is a matter that should be "decided" by the state government itself, "as in others." Again addressing Pedro Blanco, she considers that if he believes that some issue requires review, "the normal thing is that he addresses the State and not the City Council."
Appearance at the September plenary
Despite her reproaches, the mayor has confirmed that at the next municipal plenary, corresponding to the month of September, the local government will provide explanations on this matter, without yet specifying which member of the executive will take the floor. She has detailed that the request for appearance is already registered and that in that session everything already presented will be "repeated" "with total transparency."
In addition to the criticisms from the PSOE —which spoke of "contradictory versions"—, the non-attached councilor Mercedes Rosón demanded from the City Council "all" the available documentation, including reports, meeting minutes, and contact records. For his part, the spokesperson for the PP, Borja Verea, described what happened as a "disgrace" for not "checking" who was behind the project and for its "lack of solvency."
"We will provide any data we can have, so don't worry. What we will not provide is explanations or documentation that we do not have nor will we carry out any type of management on something that is not municipal competence," Sanmartín has reiterated. She insisted that the local administration "does not determine" the minimum solvency "to start a business, establish a company, or for the tourist market."
She has also rejected that the City Council has the authority to require such types of accreditations, not even in the case of third companies with which they relate, as in this file. In this context, Fly2Galicia will operate the eight announced charter routes through the airline FLYYO, with Israeli links, according to international journalistic investigations.
In any case, the mayor has called on the opposition for "restraint of electoral ambitions" and has acknowledged that she expected "a little more modesty and prudence," "especially" from Pedro Blanco. "There are still many months until the elections," she pointed out, calling for a reduction in political tension around this debate.