Madrid mayor fights back in ‘luxury’ holiday spat

THE left-wing mayor of Madrid, Manuela Carmena, is regularly pictured taking the metro to work, jammed in beside the rest of the city’s commuters, and much is made of her down-to-earth approach and shunning of the usual trappings of the highest office in Spain’s capital.

So right-leaning Spanish newspaper La Razon thought they’d scored a scoop with pictures of the 71-year-old former judge taking a holiday in the luxury resort of Atlanterra, Cadiz. The paper went big on details of the mayor’s exclusive, €3,900-per-week villa, and published pictures of Carmena in her swimming costume, alongside accusations from her opposition counterparts in the Partido Popular, accusing her of “double standards.”

Carmena, however, took to Twitter to respond, expressing regret that the paper had not asked her to confirm the details of her getaway.

“About the holiday,” she posted on the social network, “Eight people in the house sharing a break and costs.” So the price of the exclusive villa, shared between six adults with two children also staying, cost the mayor a far less luxury price tag of €650.

Madrid City Council representatives confirmed that the mayor had paid for the holiday from her own income, travelled to the resort in her daughter’s car, and returned by train, with none of the costs coming from the public purse.

Carmena tweeted on Tuesday to confirm that after a week off she was back at work.