On Friday I begged the question in Panorama should
Gibraltar seek to make common cause with PSOE to pressure the PP Government in
Madrid to honour its commitments under the Cordoba Agreement and the Tripartite
Forum.
It appears that as I was writing the article the
Commission of the Presidency and Equality of the Andalucía Government was
talking about the Foro de Diálogo too. The ruling coalition of PSOE and the IU
passed a motion calling on the Spanish Government to normalise relations with
our Government and to reactivate the Forum of Dialogue for the mutual benefit
of Madrid and Gibraltar. It will come as no great surprise to learn that the
Partido Popular representatives on the Commission voted against the first part
of the motion but not all of it.
The motion was presented by PSOE. The socialists
received the backing of the far left Izquierda Unida but some of the motion was
passed unanimously with the support of the PP.
It was like back to the good old days of socialist
rule in Spain when they promised to make the border a pleasurable and easy
place to pass through. Not only did those pigs never fly they didn’t even make
it on to the runway. Still we should be happy that the Commission wants to see
improvements to benefit both Gibraltarians and those in the Campo, to study the
situation of the Spanish workers in Gibraltar, and to increase the coverage
given to Gibraltar, the Campo and Ceuta affairs on the Andalucía broadcaster
RTPA.
The socialists didn’t hold their punches. Speaking for
the motion Rocío Arrabal who represents Algeciras for PSOE stated: “since the
arrival of the PP in the Moncloa the relations of coexistence with Gibraltar
have deteriorated significantly. The Government of the nation has forgotten
permanently that more than 5,000 (Spanish) workers ply their trade in
Gibraltar”.
The PSOE MP from across the bay went on to criticise the Spanish Government for announcing earlier
this year “the end of the tripartite forum for dialogue on Gibraltar.” Arrabal
pointed out that many advances had taken place since its inception for the
people of Gibraltar and the Campo de Gibraltar including “the revaluation of
pensions for workers in Gibraltar, the joint use of the airport or the opening
of the Instituto Cervantes in Gibraltar”.
Another voice from across the bay then
spoke up in the form of PP MP Jacinto Muñoz. Well I am sure I don’t have to
tell you what Jacinto said but just for the record it included the fact that
the arrival of the PP Government has meant that relations will be “bilateral”
between Spain and the United Kingdom because Gibraltar “is not a sovereign
State with voice and vote”. He went on to argue the Tripartite Forum had
produced “damaging” consequences for Spain and added that under the PP
government there would be no “submission” to Gibraltar as there had been from
Socialist governments.
The IU view expressed by Alba Doblas was
that every time there is a PP government in Spain relations with Gibraltar take
a step back. Don’t we know it. Doblas called for collaboration and not
confrontation.
So there we have it. It seems both the
socialists and the IU are holding the PP government to account for Rajoy’s
confrontational politics with Gibraltar. PSOE also seems intent on defending
the Cordoba Agreement and the Tripartite Process. Which brings me back to my
question of Friday – should we do likewise?
I leave the final
word today to José Carracao who up to the last election was a PSOE Senator with
a special role in Gibraltar affairs. A former mayor of Jimena and president of
the Campo de Gibraltar town halls he still holds major influence in PSOE. He
told me: “Demuestra que en España no todos pensamos igual, que hay una parte muy
importante que pensamos que tener unas buenas relaciones, amistosas, con
nuestros vecinos gibraltareños, son beneficiosas para ambos lados. La propuesta
del PSOE, en la que he trabajado, aportando mis conocimientos de la cuestión,
apoyada por IU, exige al Gobierno de España el restablecimiento del Diálogo, que
ha dado importantes frutos en otros tiempos y que debe seguir dándolos, puesto,
que hay cuestiones importantes: accidentes marítimos, tráfico de drogas,
terrorismo internacional, por poner sólo unos ejemplos, que nos afecta a ambas
comunidades y a los que debemos dar respuesta conjunta.
“Creo que desde el máximo respeto a las
posiciones de cada cual, el diálogo es algo por lo que vengo luchando desde
siempre y por lo que seguiré luchando. Hago grandes esfuerzos personales por
intentar convencer al Gobierno de España, que el camino que ha elegido, de la
confrontación no es el adecuado. Vivimos en una zona con una renta de situación
magnífica que merece ser explota adecuadamente para que la gente que aquí
vivimos podamos progresar de manera adecuada, en paz y en libertad y que se
reduzca la alta tasa de desempleo que azota a miles de familias y los hace
infelices.
"Espero
que el Gobierno de España, tome buena nota de esto que el Parlamento de
Andalucía a propuesta del PSOE y apoyada por IU le demanda, en representación
de los ciudadanos andaluces."
