A Valencia councillor has been caught shopping for wine online during a flood relief meeting. Eugene Costello reports
A Valencia councillor has been caught shopping for wine online during a flood relief meeting. Tuesday’s council meeting had been called to debate extra funding for areas ravaged by flooding in Spain at the very end of October.
During the Valencia city council plenary session on Tuesday, José Marí Olano of the governing centre-right People’s Party (PP) was caught on a livestream scrolling through bottles of wine on a shopping website and adding them to his basket.
The faux pas was picked up upon and reported immediately on social media and news outlets. Realising his error, Sr Olano stood up at the end of the session, and addressed the delegates. He said, “I apologise publicly to all of you and the citizens, whom we all represent.”
His cavalier attitude recalled the day of the DANA when the president of the regional government Carlos Mazón was AWOL taking a female journalist for a long lunch. Mazón had tweeted that the flood would not cause undue problems and would pass by 6pm. In fact, this was just about the time when the worst of the storm was destroying homes and buildings and taking lives.
His actions led to a number of huge demonstrations with 130,000 in the streets calling for his resignation. This latest faux-pas will add to the anger and belief that the PP is not fit for government. Many say it has shown great irresponsibility both preparing for the DANA and in its aftermath.
Anger at Popular Party
Opposition politicains were enraged by Olano’s actions.
“When you think you can’t get any more indignant.. A PP councillor from Valencia appears buying wine online in the middle of the debate,” said Borja Sanjuán of the ruling Socialist Party (PSOE). “It is also striking that he is always on his laptop during the plenary sessions. But I didn’t expect him to be buying wine,” he said.
Papi Robles of the left-wing Compromís coalition was ouraged. He said that Olano’s online wine shopping was “one of the saddest things I have ever seen in politics in my life”.