WHEN PARTIES DEBATE

The GSD, in the form of Isobel Ellul-Hammond, has raised its concerns that the Liberal Party may be allowed a separate voice in GBC debates such as on Parliamentary Reform. Her point being that as the Liberals are in coalition with the GSLP her party would in effect be having to debate with the government from two angles.

I see her point but it very much depends on how the debate is constituted. If GBC has asked a Government Minister and the GSD Shadow to debate an issue such as broadcasting then of course it should be on a one to one basis. However if the debate is amongst political parties then the Liberals are as entitled to their say as the GSD or the GSLP.

The fact that the GSLP and the Liberals have been in coalition in opposition and now government over a long period is neither here nor there. They are two independent parties, with their own organizations, leaders and members. They may have found a way over the years to work closely together but I suspect if you discussed politics with a member of the Liberal Party and a member of the GSLP, although they would have a joint centre left approach, they equally would have a very different take on any given issue.

Both parties are also very distinctive in the GSLP being a sister party of Labour whilst the Liberals are closely linked to both Liberal International and the Lib Dems.

If we take the UK as an example if there is a TV or radio debate on a key political issue it is not unusual to see a Conservative MP pitted against a Lib Dem MP with a Labour MP thrown in. The difference comes when the subject for debate is one of government and there the Minister will take part, who may be Conservative or Lib Dem, with a Labour Opposition spokesperson giving their party’s view.

So Isobel Ellul-Hammond would be right if GBC was creating a debate on a government issue. Then obviously only the minister should be involved, regardless of his or her party, and likewise the opposition spokesperson would speak for the GSD. However if the debate is between parties then our Liberals have as much right to be heard as the GSLP or GSD.

Indeed if it is a party debate then the PDP should also be included. They have earned the right to be heard for in two general elections they have fielded a full slate of candidates. The fact that none of them were elected is neither here nor there. People still voted for them.

If the PDP was included and as it sprang from the GSD then the two parties’ views on an issue could well be in alignment. So would it be fair for the GSLP and Liberals only to have one voice when those of the PDP and GSD were ranged against it in a party debate? I would say not.

These issues are far more complex than a sound bite but I can’t blame Isobel Ellul-Hammond for trying. Being a believer in democracy over all else I would defend any party’s right to be heard: that goes for the GSLP and the GSD; it certainly goes for the Liberals and yes the PDP too. The PDP may not have any MPs but they did win votes and the people who voted PDP have the right for their party’s views to be aired alongside those of the other elected parties in public debate.

LIBERALS AND LIB DEMS: THE JOYS AND WOES OF COALITION

On Monday morning I settled down to breakfast in a rural hotel in Olvera in the Sierra de Cádiz. I had found a copy of Sunday’s El País in reception and flicked through the pages as I munched on my mollete. I stopped at a page on which there was a picture at the top of a grim David Cameron and Nick Clegg facing away from each other and decided to read intently.

My main reason for doing so is I believe there is a lot to be learned from how others see us. However having read the lengthy piece I was rather puzzled. There was nothing wrong with the report indeed it was a very British review of the state of the coalition two years on from the last general election. Yet there was no Spanish angle to it. I checked the by-line in case it had been written by a British journalist: by the name I suspect not. Perhaps the plight of the Lib Dems is plain for all to see whether you are British or Spanish.

One key point the article made is that the next major challenge to be faced by Nick Clegg will not be in parliament or at the polls but before his own party. In September he will have to address the Lib Dems party conference. He will do so with the Lib Dems two flagship policies in the bin. The changes to the voting system were kicked in to touch by the electorate in a referendum and the plans to reform the House of Lords have been dumped by Cameron because he can’t deliver the required votes amongst his Tory MPs. So Clegg will have to stand before his party to defend the coalition but with nothing to show for it. The leader will have no clothes.

In all likelihood at that conference will be the Leader of Gibraltar’s Liberal Party Dr Joseph Garcia. He has attended before but never as the Deputy Chief Minister of Gibraltar. Like Clegg he is the leader of a junior partner in a coalition government but the differences between the two could not be more marked.

In Britain the centre left Lib Dems are in government with the centre right Conservatives whereas we have a coalition formed by two parties of the left. The Lib Dems in their grab for power could have sided with either the Tories or Labour and probably backed Cameron due to the national loathing of Gordon Brown. Yet in Gibraltar the GSLP and Liberals went to the polls as long term partners on a joint manifesto. The Lib Dems manifesto still haunts them.

The Lib Dems are not just in trouble with the Tories but the electorate. Those MPs who were elected, some of whom now sit at the cabinet table, won their votes on promises they never expected they’d have to keep. My niece voted Lib Dem. A graduate just out of uni she believed Clegg and his cohorts when they pledged they’d oppose any rise in university fees. She feels betrayed and won’t be voting for the Lib Dems again. The next UK election will be fought out between Labour and the Tories: if the Lib Dems are lucky they will be reduced to a rump.

If our Liberals have a problem it is one of identity: just what in the GSLP Liberal manifesto is theirs? I know for a fact that Dr Garcia worked hard on drawing up the document with Fabian Picardo with input from both parties but what measures are socialist and what are Liberal?

We had a united GSLP Liberal opposition and now we have a very united GSLP Liberal government. Apart from the obvious names do you know which ministers represent which party? In the UK the differences between the coalition partners are all too plain to see.

The GSLP is of the socialist tradition, a sister party of the Labour Party in the UK. The Liberals are closely aligned to the Lib Dems in the UK and to the Liberals internationally. Unless the parties are to merge I believe it is important they still maintain distinctive identities for I suspect for many Gibraltarian voters the GSLP Lib Dems are already one party.

Perhaps the political miracle was that the then younger Dr Garcia was able to marshal his forces alongside the old political war horse Joe Bossano to deliver an effective GSLP Liberal opposition through several parliaments. The job in government is far easier as after all Fabian Picardo cut his political teeth as one of Dr Garcia’s troopers. Picardo now leads and when Dr Garcia attends the Lib Dem conference Nick Clegg should ask him for a tip or two on how to follow but more importantly how to make a coalition work.

GOD IS ON OUR SIDE

I wonder how many soldiers have gone to their deaths over the centuries in which each side in the bloody conflict believed God was on their side? Religion should have no place in war and many would argue it has no place in politics either. Yet for many their Christianity is what drives their political convictions.

The Church of England is traditionally described as the Tory Party at prayer. However if you took the average congregation today it probably has little in common with the Conservative Party profile.

In the 19 th and 20 th centuries there was a mass migration from Ireland to Britain and the Irish, being Catholics, reinforced that church. As they were immigrants socialism was their natural political home and it is no coincidence that many leading Labour politicians over the years have had Irish surnames and are Catholics.

However Labour also drew much of its support from the Welsh valleys and industrial heartlands where chapel and non-conformist brands of Christianity held sway. F D Maurice, Ellen Wilkinson, George Lansbury, and Donald Soper all came from this rich tradition of Christian Socialists.

In May for the first time I visited Karl Marx’s tomb in Highgate Cemetery. To be honest I was drawn by a simple plaque nearby bearing the name of Ralph Miliband, the father of David and Ed. The distance from this section of the cemetery to the Catholic grammar school I attended in the 1960s was 20 minutes max. On Friday July 14 1961 Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, visited Karl Marx’s tomb as part of his visit to London and Manchester. As he was Russian, a Communist and an atheist - for weren’t all Russians Communists and atheists – the school totally ignored this historic event on our doorstep.

Yet with the fall of the iron curtain we find that the Orthodox Church in Russia never went away and today holds major influence in the country of Stalin. The Catholic Church in Poland even gave us one of the most popular modern Popes and its economic migrants to the UK are reinforcing the church there as the Irish did one hundred years ago. So Russian or Eastern Block they may have been, communist as well but atheist certainly not.

Two politicians, Tony Blair and Peter Caruana, demonstrate perfectly the tug of war between church and State. Blair, once a protestant, is married to Cherie Blair, a devout Catholic and it was no secret that Blair wanted to become a Catholic being received in to the Church shortly after he left office. Yet as Prime Minister he presided over a secular government introducing in to law a number of measures which incurred the anger and opposition of both the Church of England and the Catholic Church. As Alastair Campbell famously said: “We don’t do God”

In Gibraltar the Minister for Justice, Daniel Feetham, brought before parliament a private members bill over the age of consent for homosexuals. It was a private bill because Peter Caruana as a devout Catholic said he couldn’t support it. Hence we had the bizarre spectacle of the chief minister voting against a measure introduced by his own minister of justice. In addition we had other GSD ministers also opposing the measure although whether they were following their Lord spiritual or temporal is a moot point.

I raise this issue today because before me I have a number of leaflets one of which reads: “If this is how you want Gibraltar to suffer like the rest of Europe! Vote for Godless Socialism! GSLP/Lib. If you want to continue with the best Godly government Gbraltar (sic) has even had and enjoy 3 per cent unemployment! Vote GSD!”

Well the writer may want to warp Peter Caruana in the Shroud of Turin but I would argue the message is an insult to all religious people in Gibraltar. As far as I am aware we are all equal in the sight of our God, we all worship together and there are no GSD, GSLP, Liberal, PDP or political agnostic segregated pews in the Rock’s churches, chapels, temples, mosques or synagogues.

To pretend that all members of the GSLP are atheists is as false as believing in 1961 that all Russians were Godless. I don’t doubt the chief minister’s religious conviction but to suggest that all members of the GSD share his faith is ridiculous.

Many Christians are drawn to socialism because they believe passionately in social justice. Many Christian Socialists believe all people are created in the image of God, have equal worth, deserve equal opportunities to fulfil their God-given potential.

There are many Christian Socialists in the GSLP as there are many good Christians in the GSD. To suggest that God is on the side of one party over the other is simply unchristian.

THE PDP’S VOICE MUST BE HEARD

Gibraltar is a democracy and hence the PDP’s voice must be heard.

Of course every political party likes to steal a lead on its rivals and in major democracies they employ spin merchants and media spokespeople to ensure their voice is heard louder than their rivals. That is all part of the party game but what is not disputed is any party’s right to the airwaves or the print press.

For that reason anybody and everybody in Gibraltar who believes in democracy – be they GSD, GSLP, Liberal or non-aligned – should stand up for the right of the PDP to be able to get its message across.

I will not disagree with the GBC’s stance on giving airtime to Fabian Picardo and the GSLP in its Viewpoint programme. It was an audience winner for a variety of reasons. So when the GBC’s CEO Allen King said: “Joe Bossano stood down as GSLP party leader after more than 30 years, and there is great interest in the community as to what the change in the GSLP leadership will mean. By any standards, this is a major news story” it is hard not to agree with him.

The PDP is led by a former GSD deputy chief minister, Keith Azopardi, and should be up to the political game. Being an unelected party doesn’t help its media cause. So when it demands equal airtime with the GSLP to get its policies across it knows that is not going to happen. Instead it has to ensure that it feeds the GBC and others with “major news stories” then fight to have them aired or printed. If they are not then the party needs to speak out as it has done so in this case which, of course, creates just such a major news story.

However a general election will be soon upon us and the game will change. Mr King has stated: “every party will be given fair and impartial coverage”. The PDP has to ensure that is the case and they are not shunted aside because they are not currently an elected party.

In the 2010 UK general election the Labour, Conservative and Liberal leaders all took part in the televised debates because it was possible that any one of those parties could win the election. However party political broadcasts were also allocated to UKIP, the Greens, the English Democrats – whoever they may be, even the racist BNP plus all the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland regional parties. That is what freedom of speech is all about.

When the Gibraltar general election is declared if the PDP is putting up the same number of candidates as the GSD, GSLP-Liberal coalition – in other words it is a potential party of government - then it should be given an equal hearing and fully share in any debates or discussions.

The important thing is for the PDP to ensure it has that commitment from Mr King now because “every party will be given fair and impartial coverage” does not necessarily equate with “will be given equal airtime and the right to participate on an equal basis in all debates or party political broadcasts”. If that is in the least doubt then the time to argue the point and make a “major news story” is now not then.

There are many who fear for democracy in Gibraltar and the old saying is he who pays the piper plays the tune. GBC is funded by the government but the GBC has to ensure it speaks at all times - but especially at election time - for the people and not its paymaster, the party of power. For whilst the chief minister signs the cheque it is the people of Gibraltar who pay the bill including PDP supporters.

GIBRALTAR’S BEST CONNECTED POLITICIAN

A week ago a photograph appeared in the Gibraltar media. It showed the leader of Gibraltar’s Liberal Party, Dr Joseph Garcia, sitting down with the deputy leader of the UK’s Lib Dems, Simon Hughes. They say every picture tells a story and the real story here wasn’t they’d had a chat after the memorial service for the former Mayor of Southwark, Hilary Wines, which they did, but that the Gibraltar Liberal is a key member of that party internationally.

They say you are getting old when the policemen on the beat start to look young. Well I first met Dr Joseph Garcia many years ago and he was young and I wasn’t that old. Now I have entered “maturity” and Gibraltar’s Liberal Leader still looks and indeed is young. However looks can be deceiving and despite his youth over the years he has made a mark not only for his party within the Liberal International organisation but also amongst fellow Lib Dems in the UK.

I asked the Lib Dem Euro MP for Gibraltar, Graham Watson, for his estimation of the Rock’s Liberal leader. He told me: “Joseph is well known locally for his work for Liberalism in Gibraltar; but many on the Rock are unaware of his important contribution to wider Liberal efforts - in the UK Lib Dems, in the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party and worldwide through the Liberal International.”

Indeed they are not. Not only has Dr Joseph steered what was a small Gibraltar party in to a strong coalition partnership with the GSLP but in so doing he has seen his personal standing and that of the Liberals rise considerably on the Rock’s political barometer. His name always charts amongst those naming who they would prefer as a chief minister. He has maintained his party’s identity and integrity yet worked in a close partnership with that wily old fox of a politician Joe Bossano. I am sure his success in Gibraltar is studied by thinking Lib Dems in the UK on how to enter and sustain a coalition without loosing your credibility or selling your soul.

At the next Gibraltar general election, whenever that may be, he will co-lead the GSLP – Liberal coalition in to battle with probably Fabian Picardo at his side. Yet it wouldn’t matter if it was Picardo or Bossano because whoever fights for the GSLP will have as their partner the best connected politician in Gibraltar.

I have no doubt Joe Bossano has a little red book but the names in it are probably Old Labour warriors like him. In Dr Joseph’s little black book are the names and numbers of the British Deputy Prime Minister, Lib Dem cabinet colleagues and the top Liberals world-wide.

I don’t know if the chief minister has a little contact book – all I’ve heard is that he’s a dab hand at throwing the telephone directory at people who incur his wrath. I am sure Simon Hughes isn’t in it as he went out of his way to meet as many people on his visit to Gibraltar, but the chief minister wasn’t one of them. I wonder why? I also suspect, I may be wrong, the chief minister doesn’t have the private number of David Cameron or come to that of the UK’s Foreign Secretary William Hague.

You can imagine the scene at Chez-Hague. The phone rings – Ffion get that for me will you – it’s who? – Peter? Peter who? – Caruana? – posh but foreign, he’s not Libyan is he? – Gibraltar – oh, Caruana, oh tell him I’m busy – very busy - I’m practicing judo with my male assistant!

(An edited version of the above appeared in Panorama on Monday March 7 2011)

MILIBAND AND CO CAN LEARN FROM THE GSLP – LIBERALS

I was recently in London at a Fabian Society conference to see the new Labour Leader, Ed Miliband, deliver the keynote speech. At the same conference the Lib Dem Deputy Leader –and a good friend of Gibraltar – Simon Hughes was also taking part in one of the sessions. I had wanted to ask him what lessons the GSLP Liberal alliance in Gibraltar could learn from the British coalition should they win the forthcoming general election on the Rock. I soon realised this wasn’t the question at all – it was what Miliband and the progressive Liberals could learn from the GSLP – Liberals.

I had seen Ed’s brother a couple of times when he visited Gibraltar in 2009 for the ministerial meeting with the then Spanish foreign secretary Miguel Moratinos and the chief minister Peter Caruana. Caruana must feel a bit like HM The Queen who has been on the throne so long that she has seen numerous prime ministers and presidents come and go. Far be it from me to compare the chief minister with royalty but since he was first elected in 1996 he has seen numerous British premiers, foreign secretaries and ministers for Europe and their Spanish counterparts rise and fall too.

One of the key themes of Ed Miliband’s speech was the need to create a progressive alliance. He believes the British public want to see progressive politics and intends to position the Labour Party in the vanguard of that movement – indeed as its very standard bearer. He then held out his hand to those members of the Lib Dems who were unhappy with the coalition with the Tories. He is in the process of wooing Lib Dem voters to abandon their party and join with Labour instead. In that effort he is achieving a lot of success. However he accepts that many Liberals will want to stay within the party and fight for their beliefs – these he believes could be the coalition partners for Labour in the future.

There is extreme anger in the Labour Party towards the Lib Dems, not because they would not enter coalition with them but because by joining the Conservatives they are allowing Cameron and Osborne to push through their cuts and have also betrayed much of their election manifesto. Hence it was interesting to see Simon Hughes take part in a session – Challengers or collaborators? Can the progressives influence the coalition?

I have to be honest and say that I believe the idea of a coalition with the Conservatives sits uneasily with Hughes and he spent most of the session seemingly trying to convince himself that he and his party had been right. He lost his cool on a number of occasions especially when being baited by Labour’s then Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Douglas Alexander MP under the watchful eye of the chair, the Guardian journalist Polly Toynbee. Alexander played a key role in the negotiations with the Lib Dems after the last election and given his abrasiveness I am not surprised they failed. He is definitely not on my list as a companion on a walking holiday.

A split between Labour and the Liberals occurred in British politics over a century ago and before Tony Blair led New Labour back to power in 1997 he had spent several years along with Peter Mandelson trying to form an alliance of the left with the Lib Dems. For a variety of reasons that never happened but of course in Gibraltar it has.

Now whilst the GSLP and Liberals are very much Gibraltarian parties both have very close links with their British counterparts. Joe Bossano was closely linked with the British trade union movement and the Labour Party and it was a stalwart of the London Co-operative left, Alf Lomas, that helped him in forging the GSLP. The Liberals too have strong links with the Lib-Dems both in Britain and internationally.

So the very alliance that Miliband is trying to strike for the progressives in politics in the UK has been alive and well in Gibraltar since Joe Bossano offered the hand of coalition to the Liberal leader Dr Joseph Garcia ahead of the 2000 elections. I am sure there have been disagreements between the two over the last decade but I have certainly never heard of any rumours of a likely brake in the alliance unlike the constant media prattle over splits between the Tories and Lib Dems. Furthermore if Fabian Picardo becomes leader of the GSLP in place of Joe Bossano then the alliance is likely to be even stronger as both he and Garcia are from the same political stock.

Whether that leaves the GSD as the Tories in disguise is a moot point. One of those who would like to succeed Caruana is his minister for justice, Daniel Feetham, who is a socialist. Not only did he have ambitions to lead the GSLP but even formed his own Labour Party, so where his political philosophy fits in with the rest of the GSD is anybody’s guess.

So if the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition runs its five year course and in 2014 Ed Miliband wants some advice on how to bring his progressive alliance to reality then he should look no further than the GSLP and Liberals – who by then could have brought the art of a progressive agenda to government.