The decision to fly rainbow flags outside a big school in south Tenerife has sparked a political row which could have far-reaching repercussions.
The secondary school in El Médano has hit the local headlines following the replacement of the institutional flags normally flown on public buildings with several rainbow flags and the move triggered a furious protest by the right-wing Vox party in Granadilla council.
According to Vox, the only flags that can be present on school buildings in the area are those of the European Union, Spain, the Canary Islands, and – as the local authority – Granadilla. “These flags represent everyone and do not have the ideological meaning the rainbow flag carries” said a spokesman for the party, who demanded that the four LGBT+ flags raised on the front of the school be removed immediately. “While we agree with steps taken by schools to combat bullying for reasons of gender, religion or county of origin, we are against the display of flags and symbols which not everyone identifies with as it is a form of exclusion” he added.
The Vox demand was not supported by the two other parties with whom it governs in Granadilla following the recent change in late March when the three joined forces to oust the PSOE from power. Both the Canarian Coalition (CC) and the Popular Party (PP) withdrew their support for the motion, leaving Vox alone in its criticism of the flags, and they reiterated that Granadilla Council’s official celebration of LGBT+ Day on 28 June will see rainbow flags flown on various buildings.
The matter has not rested there, however, and Vox’s spokesperson in the Canarian Parliament wrote a formal letter to the region’s education minister asking for measures to be taken against the school for breaking the flag rule. It is not clear whether the row will prompt Vox’s councillors in Granadilla to withdraw from the new coalition and cause fresh governance issues in the council.
