Photo size debacle for Torredembarra
A town hall is in trouble after displaying a passport sized photo of the King. This photo size debacle for Torredembarra is now headed to Tarragona court number two in what the local government are calling a politically motivated issue.
Torredembarra town hall. Image ©Jorge FranganilloThe photograph of King Felipe, which has been described as only slightly large than a passport photo, has been on display since October 29 2015 and is alongside a photo of the acting President of the Generalitat, Artur Mas in the Ajuntament of the town in Tarragona.
Torredembarra motion
The motion to display the photo was filed on August 1 2015 and was approved with eight votes in total. There were four from the ERC, two from the Alternativa Baix Gaià, and one each from the CDC and CUP parties. Three members of the PSC party and one from the AD abstained while four representatives from the Ciutadans, Unió and PP voted against it.
The seventeen applicable councillors have been given official notice that they will be required to speak in court, in person, and to justify their decision.
Spokesman for the Ciutadans, Toni Cruz, confirmed that his party reported the case to the Regional Government.
Sacristan, a spokesman for the CUP described events as a “symbolic act of disobedience to the State” and “against the King.”
A councillor for the Alternativa Baix Gaià, Lluís Suñém said: “We are convinced that we have not violated any law because the portrait of the King and the President of the Generalitat are exactly the same size.”
He went on to describe the complaint as a “political decision because there is no article specifying the size that portraits should adhere to, just that the King must be of equal or greater extent than the regional president.”
Mayor of Torredembarra, Eduard Rovira, has defended the decision of picture size by pointing out its prominent location above the lintel of the entrance hall door.
Expert opinion
Experts in administrative law have agreed that size is not specified and said the whole thing would be laughable if it were not being paid for out of the public purse. Expert in protocol and institutional relations, Marta Domenech, said that the law “in no way specifies what should be the location nor size” and “when there are no regulations, it should be down to common sense.” She went on to predict: “It will be a controversial case.”
¿Dónde está el Rey? https://t.co/Jph10WaDlb pic.twitter.com/uX64PVpAC4
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Born a “Norverner”, she then spent most of her life “Dann Saff” before moving to Spain in 2006. Elle’s loves are Alan, the internet, dogs, good food, and dry white wine – although not necessarily in that order.
