Looking Back
2014
2014 was an eventful year for Lanzarote, with healthy
tourist numbers, distinguished guests and an oil debate
that continued to polarize opinion on the island.
arious Votes
nationalist than before. Spain, however, was one of
the exceptions, and the big news here were the gains
In May European voters went to the
by the anti-austerity left and the astonishing rise of
polls and returned a Parliament that was
Podemos – a party that had not existed at the start of
markedly more right-wing and
the year. All over Europe the message seemed to
be that two-party politics
Pablo Iglesias and Podemos
was coming to an end.
In September, Scotland
voted to remain part of the
United Kingdom in its
independence referendum
– although Scots on
Lanzarote did not get a
chance to vote. A similar
referendum was denied to
the Spanish region of
Catalonia, and a
referendum on the oil
issue was also refused in
the Canaries.
V
il Anger
O
Canarian opposition to oil drilling off its
coasts was ignored by the Spanish
government. A Supreme Court gave
the green light to private oil
company Repsol despite the
serious concerns of ecological
organizations and two of the
judges, and a proposed vote
on the matter was later
suspended after being ruled
illegal by Madrid. An opinion poll
later found that 75 per cent of
Canarians were against drilling.’
In November, the Repsol boat
Rowan Renaissance finally
travelled to the offshore drilling
area. Global headlines followed
when the Spanish Navy rammed
Greenpeace boats that were
16
| January 2015 | The Gazette
undertaking a peaceful protest, breaking a protestor´s
leg in the process.
Despite promises by Repsol that the platform would
not be visible from Lanzarote, the island closed the year
with the sight of a clearly visible oil platform on its horizon.
D
istinguished
Visitors
British Prime Minister David
Cameron spent a week´s holiday on
Lan zarote at Easter – the first national leader
to visit the island since President Zapatero´s
regular holidays here.
Cameron and his family stayed at Casa
Tomaren, a boutique hotel in rural Mozaga,
and were seen out and about on the island
every single day of their holiday, bathing at
David Cameron and Son at Famara
Famara, Papagayo and Arrieta; strolling
and dining at Puerto del Carmen and
Costa Teguise and taking a coffee at
Teguise market.
The Prime Minister also managed to get
stung by a jellyfish during his trip. Before
returning to London, he took time to tell the
Gazette “Lanzarote is a great island. “ He
also responded to an article in the Daily Mail
that angered islanders by saying “Lanzarote
is many things, but grotty isn´t one of them.”
Early summer also saw another titled
visitor to the island, as the new Doctor
Who, Peter Capaldi, filmed scenes for the
new series of the sci-fi show at the iconic
Volcan del Cuervo.