Cantabria Socialists blame PP for failing to manage Asian algae cleanup

The Cantabria branch of Spain’s Socialist Party (PSOE) criticised the People’s Party (PP) for what it called “demagogy” in handling the invasion of Asian algae on the region’s beaches. Spokeswoman Ainoa Quiñones said that responsibility for beach cleaning and algae removal rests with municipalities, while the development of biomass‑management plans belongs to the autonomous community. She argued that the PP, both in the regional government and in municipalities it controls, has not prepared the required plan, unlike other PP‑led regions such as Andalusia, Galicia and Melilla.

Quiñones referenced the guide issued two years ago by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition (MITECO) to assist regions in drafting management plans, noting that Cantabria has still not approved its own plan. Without such a plan, “it is not possible to authorise projects to use or valorise the algae,” she said, limiting the region’s response to the invasive species. PP deputy Alejandro Liz had earlier called on the central government to intervene, a request the Socialists dismissed as an attempt to shift responsibility.

The dispute highlights tension between the regional PSOE and the PP over environmental policy and the allocation of duties between local and national authorities.