Parliament’s festive hamper overlooks local produce
It seems that no lessons are learned, or that it simply does not matter. Following recent cases where Los Realejos Town Council and, no less, the Canary Islands Institute for Agricultural Research (ICIA) opted for wines from Ribera del Duero and Catalonia’s Penedès region, it now emerges that the Canary Islands Parliament has done likewise. Through its Presidency, held by Astrid Pérez of the PP, the Parliament distributed a hamper of various products to the 70 MPs of the autonomous chamber on the 16th and 17th of December. The contents were undoubtedly of high quality and gourmet standard, but not a single item was born or made from raw materials originating in the Canary Islands. Setting an example once again, indeed.
A gourmet selection from beyond the islands
The Christmas gift hamper enjoyed by MPs from all political groups contained no wine from Penedès or the Ribera del Duero Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), but neither did it contain any from the Canaries. Instead, it included several gourmet tins of tuna and mussels from the Galician brand Tito; a bottle of extra virgin olive oil from the Extremaduran brand La Chinata; a selection of Cinco Jotas Jabugo ham from Huelva; crisps from the La Coruña-based brand Bonilla a la Vista; a premium cocktail in a jar of oil and paprika from the company Finca La Rosala in Ciudad Real; olive bread with rosemary and oil from the Madrid-based company Ultramarinos Zappa’s; and shortbread biscuits from Scotland (Walkers brand).
A stark contrast to ‘buy local’ campaigns
This selection stands in stark contrast to the regional government’s own Christmas campaign to incentivise the consumption of local products and support island-based companies that produce within the archipelago, or at least use local ingredients. It is quite an example, particularly for the CC party, which frequently uses the slogan ‘lo nuestro’ (‘what’s ours’), even though Astrid Pérez belongs to the PP, a party often labelled as centralist.
In previous years, the Parliament of the Canary Islands has used public companies from the autonomous government, such as GMR, or from the island councils for these gifts, featuring local designations of origin that certify production, thereby raising awareness and leading by example. It is also true that there were years when, due to past controversy over gifts for parliamentary staff, nothing was distributed. However, it is clear that this time, the constant and powerful campaigns to buy Canarian products were not taken into account.
Parliament explains supplier choice
Sources from the Presidency of the autonomous Parliament explained to this newspaper that on this occasion, a small shop in Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Ultramarinos Natalia), which specialises in gourmet products, was chosen. This business works with other companies from mainland Spain and abroad, hence the result. The previous Christmas, they added, the famous high-end confectionery company El Aderno, originally from Buenavista del Norte in Tenerife, was selected. They stress that the objective is to support companies in the Canaries, though it is patently obvious that the contents of this year’s hamper clearly contradict the ‘consume Canarian’ message.
Calls for coherence and protocol
Indeed, if the premise is to support companies with certain difficulties or in need of a boost—which does not seem to be the case with El Aderno—the waiting list or offers from local producers would surely be more than considerable, even in these generally prosperous economic times. Either one is coherent with one’s own campaigns and slogans, even from a partisan perspective, or, failing that, it should at least be regulated by a protocol which, in most public administrations, exists, is applied, and is inspected. This is clearly not the case for Los Realejos Town Council, the ICIA, and now the Presidency of the Parliament itself, where the four major parties—PSOE, PP, CC, and NC—are represented on the governing board.
The sources consulted in the Presidency of the Parliament of the Canary Islands could not specify the cost of this purchase, nor whether this common gift was intended solely for the 70 MPs.
President’s previous support for local produce
On 13 November last year, in a Facebook post published after her participation in the presentation of the VII Mesa Abierta Gastronomy Awards, the president of the island chamber stated that “to bet on zero-kilometre [produce] is to bet not only on the quality of our cuisine, but also on the conservation of our biodiversity, our traditional flavours, and above all it is to support the effort of hundreds of farmers, livestock breeders, fishermen, and artisans who carefully care for the resources of each island. By choosing local products, we strengthen our local economy, protect our landscapes, our way of life, and our identity as a people,” argued the PP politician who is now President of the Parliament of the Canary Islands, just two months ago.
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