_
_
_
_
_

Popular Party politician adds to litany of outspoken comments

City chief says system of reporting "is how terrible things begin"

Francisco Javier León de la Riva, the outspoken mayor of Valladolid who made several disparaging remarks about Health Minister Leire Pajín after her appointment to the post, on Tuesday turned his attention to the new anti-smoking law that came into effect on January 2.

Speaking about the call from Pajín's ministry for citizens to report anyone flaunting the anti-smoking law, De la Riva said: "It invites people to report one another. This is how terrible things in the history of mankind have always begun. First they started with the Jews, now here we are reporting smokers."

The mayor walked into a storm of controversy back in October with comments about Pajín, saying in a radio interview: "Every time I see those eyes and that mouth I think the same thing, but I'm not going to say it."

More information
Smokers abide by Spain's tough new tobacco laws
The mayor of Valladolid, Francisco Javier León de la Riva.
The mayor of Valladolid, Francisco Javier León de la Riva.EFE
Recomendaciones EL PAÍS
Recomendaciones EL PAÍS
_
_