There are barely two hundred meters between the building that houses the headquarters of the Government of Gibraltar, at number 6 Convent Place, and El Convento, the exposed brick building where the offices of the British Governor in Gibraltar are located. Fabian Picardo, chief minister of the Rock, barely needed five minutes today to travel that distance and inform the representative of the United Kingdom in the Rock of his decision to call general elections on October 12, Hispanic Heritage Day, which, naturally, is not celebrated. over there.
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Further
Before said protocol visit, which coincided with the presence in front of the government headquarters of a union picket for the bus strike, Picardo informed his own cabinet.
The elections were scheduled to take place in the fall but there was no specific date for them. On Sunday, Keith Azopardi, leader of Gibraltar Social Democrats and the Opposition, lamented that Gibraltar was already experiencing “a false campaign” and that it was necessary for the call to the polls to be announced soon.
Picardo did not have time to do so: during that day, in the celebration of National Day, he was supported by 18 British parliamentarians, around twenty delegates from overseas territories of the Commonwealth and by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the United Kingdom himself. , James Cleverly, yes, in a private visit. Quite a subliminal message for those who speculate that the Gibraltarian leader has lost favor at number 10 Downing Street: the British Prime Minister himself, Rishi Sunak and Charles III of England, sent commemorative messages as is usually required.
Picardo’s trump card: open conversations
Monday was a holiday in the Rock as National Day coincided with a holiday. And, this Tuesday, after such a visible boost to his figure, Picardo set an election date and the British Governor announced the dissolution of the Gibraltarian Parliament, at 12 noon on September 12, under paragraph 1 of article 38 of the new local Constitution .
Fabian Picardo shows certain political wear and tear, after having been in office since 2011, especially when in this last term he has had to face the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic and Brexit. The negotiations of the Treaty that should establish the status of Gibraltar with Schengen Europe and which are currently on hold as a result of the political process taking place in Spain, will mark the campaign. The best asset of the current chief minister is that the talks are still open and that, after three years of dialogue, it would not be advisable for the Rock to change interlocutor vis-à-vis Spain and the European Union.
In recent weeks, Picardo has referred to the cost – even personal – that he has suffered throughout this period: “We have worked around the clock to try to achieve a treaty for the People of Gibraltar, something that, however, “It has not yet been possible,” he acknowledged.
“We are now very close to being able to reach an agreement that will allow us to create that desired area of shared prosperity between Gibraltar and the Campo de Gibraltar area. But we’re not there yet. We must ensure that we are ready to seal the agreement, once a new Government is formed in Spain,” he stressed in a message addressed to his electorate in which he explicitly asked that he be re-elected in order to continue with the task.
Marriage between socialists and liberals
The last elections took place, in 2019, also immediately after National Day, when no one seemed to guess what was coming. In the current elections, the formation led by Picardo, the Gibraltar Socialist Labor Party, will once again participate in an electoral ticket together with the Gibraltar Liberal Party, led by the historian Joseph García who has had to take on the most unpleasant task of the last period, that of planning What could happen if there is no agreement and the Gate – and everything it entails – must face a hard Brexit. The marriage between socialists – who will meet tonight at the party headquarters – and the liberals is one of convenience but well agreed upon.
Who will not be present in the future Parliament of the Rock will be Marlene Nahon Hassan, the daughter of the historic Sir Joshua Hassan, who decided, months ago, to take a step back and not run again as head of Together Gibraltar, a progressive-oriented party. During this year, the possibility of these acronyms being presented at the polls in coalition with Gibraltar Social Democrats had been considered, despite the strong ideological differences between both formations. It was about joining forces to overthrow Picardo at the polls. However, at the beginning of this month of September, they considered this possibility and the dialogue process closed.
Hassan, who recently published in The Gibraltar Chronicle, an article particularly critical of Gibraltar’s adoption of measures at the Fence, is now committed to regaining trust between the communities on both sides of the border. In his National Day message, he hopes for hope: “As a community, we need to find a way to communicate to our political candidates that the majority of Gibraltar want a future of openness, diversity and understanding, not a return to the trenches of mistrust and isolation,” he emphasizes.
After his departure, the party is still under a manager and some of its directors have been tempted by Gibraltar Social Democrats to join this formation that aims to bring together sectors dissatisfied with Picardo who – despite his public empathy – has suffered some demonstrations against them in recent years, such as that of merchants affected by the pandemic, at the time. Or, now, the public bus drivers, called to strike by Unite. They were at the doors of the Government headquarters today, but it refuses to negotiate under pressure. Not everyone shook the Chief Minister’s hand when he came to greet them.
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2023-09-12 15:47:19
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