Llanito World

Llanito World Gibraltar political news, opinion, and commentary by
Robert Vasquez LLB, MA (newspaper journalism). Also known as Yanito World and Giannito World. Views o

24/07/2025

TOGETHER GIBRALTAR, AN ALTERNATIVE?

The question “What does Gibraltar want from its politicians?” is posed in an Opinion published in the Gibraltar Chronicle on 23rd July, by Nick Calamaro, leader of Together Gibraltar [TG].

It cannot be answered save by TG standing for election and putting forward a manifesto and seeing the electoral outcome.

Whether one gets elected or not answers the acceptability or rejection of one’s policies contained in the manifesto presented by each party or candidate.

Being elected to government much depends also on having a credible slate of candidates.

At yesterday evening’s meeting, organised by Mr Calamaro under the banner of TG, to discuss reactions to current political events, despite attendance by about 25 people, there was no evidence of TG having sufficient depth of membership.

GIVE AND GET ELECTED

Any politician knows the answer to the question that Mr Calamaro poses in his Chronicle Opinion.

It is ‘give’, ‘give’ and ‘give’ some more. Doing that would lead to success in any election.

However, a politician needs to work optimistically but within the realms of possibility, probability and affordability to gain as much popularity as possible.

It is easy to promise but not so easy to deliver within political, social and monetary constraints.

MINISTERIAL PATRONAGE

It is what Mr Calamaro goes on to emphasise, namely political patronage by ministers that is the endemic issue.

He writes, that “neither the government nor their critics seem to contest the ways in which our young democracy continues to concentrate power in the hands of ministers, granting them near unlimited discretion to intervene in individual cases.”

To correct that requires first the enforcement of the law and, to reduce the risk of recurrence, fundamental electoral, parliamentary and constitutional change. and the restitution of the independence of, and the empowerment of, the public service.

Yet he does not go so far as to propose or support that.

It is that need for fundamental change precisely that has been the recurring themes of Opinion pieces by me published in the Gibraltar Chronicle and on this blog for decades.

Additionally, it is the core policy on which I have stood as an Independent Social Democrat at two general elections. I was not elected, which says much!

PERSONAL FAVOURS

Mr Calamaro continues, “I’ve had the privilege of getting to know many of Gibraltar’s ministers personally. They have gone above and beyond to help our team at Men in Need to secure employment, access to services, and basic essentials to dozens of men in need of a second chance… Their intervention has turned people’s lives around for the better and that deserves recognition”

Is that not precisely what is wrong? Personal favours from Ministers should not be needed and are not allowed, especially at the behest of organisations that people must rely on. It is further evidence of the system working corruptly, based on favours and who one knows.

Those situations should be resolved systemically by public servants applying the law equally for all, not that it is about knowing or access to a Minister.

It is the behaviour and reality that needs condemnation and not recognition, yet Mr Calamaro praises it. The wrong is about political patronage and not political improvement of the system to help ALL who are ‘in need’.

It is that systemic solution which Mr Calamaro as leader of TG should be putting forward.

PERSONS SIDELINED

Mr Calamaro writes “… allowing our system of government to rely so heavily on ministerial intervention would be doing Gibraltar a disservice…. [it] comes at the expense of creating a fairer framework.”

He rightly emphasises that “… those without connections end up sidelined, dealing with unfit processes …”. So ‘Men in Need’ provide that connection?

That is glaringly wrong and makes the system corrupt, as it works on the patronage of whom one knows, or what charity one calls on for help knows, and not on the application of rights through systemic rigour based on laws and rules.

LACK OF RULES

Mr Calamaro alleges that “Rather than following clear guidelines or serving the public directly, civil servants are faced with antiquated processes … not fit for purpose … they … are forced to learn more about managing personalities than managing results…”

He continues, “They are forced to navigate personal whims and party politics … The cumulative effect is a weakened civil service” lacking in “both the authority and the expertise to address Gibraltar’s evolving challenges.”

He gives no evidence to support those conclusions, nor does he propose solutions, but if correct, which seems to be the case based on general observation, it is an added consequence of the political patronage that he complains of earlier.

INDEPENDENT ACTION

Mr Calamaro highlights that “Instead of relying on the word of one man, I believe it is time for Gibraltar to learn from our British heritage and make sure our institutions have the power and the expertise to carry out … functions independently … to allow the government to act with the discretion it requires, while assuring the public that decisions are being made in their interest.”

He forgets to add one important factor, which is, surely, to act within the authority of the law.

One assumes the “one man” he refers to is the Chief Minister from time to time.

There are no laws to govern unauthorised spending. The person making the payment is personally liable. The fact is that it is something that is never pursued.

NO GOOD SELF-GOVERNMENT

Mr Calamaro does refer to “Legal settlements, questionable overtime and public tender processes …” but defensively acknowledges that those “are going to be a challenge for any government to handle appropriately, particularly in a place as small as Gibraltar”.

Is that an acknowledgement that we are too small to have good and proper self-government? If so, say it loud and clear. If not, it is an admission that TG, the ‘party’ that Mr Calamaro leads, will continue the same merry-go-round.

BRITISH DISCRETION

However, Mr Calamaro suggests that learning from our British heritage will “allow our government to act with the discretion it requires while assuring the public that decisions are made in their interest.”

Any discretion is one that must be exercised within the parameters of the law. Mr Calamaro seems to stray from that principle of the Rule of Law.

It is a place that Gibraltar constantly finds itself in. It is that core administrative failing that must be put right by a suitable government through stringent action and application of existing laws.

POLITICAL ROLE

The role of an elected politician should be very distant from how Mr Calamaro describes it as being today.

He suggests that they juggle “their role as leaders, administrators and caseworkers with all of the potential for nepotism that entails”, going on to suggest that we should “accept that the role of a leader … has changed … to guarantee fairness and high standards …” which requires “a leader [to] clear the way and chart a course …”

It is not that the role as leader has changed. It is that the role of elected leaders should never have been allowed to become what he describes it to be.

It is due to our inadequate electoral system and a failure of the public service over decades (since the UK gave up the role) that has led to elected politicians usurping the independent role of public servants to act within the law.

TIME TO PUT IT RIGHT

The political war that must be had is to put that right, to ensure that each person in government performs the role assigned, ministers sticking to policy and lawmaking, public servants administering and applying the law.

A leader must understand that, and only then, can he or she “guarantee the standards … and chart the course…” as Mr Calamaro says.

In reality no political party that is elected into government does what needs to be done, and what they promise to do, once elected to government.

GETTING BACK ON THE RAILS

It is not, as Mr Calamaro writes, about a “next step in our journey … ending the reliance on personal connections and … empowering our public servants … [so as] to ensure that every family on the housing list, every patient seeking care, and every child waiting for support receives equal treatment under clear, transparent rules.”

It is about the rails of the law and parliamentary governance being there on every front and for the benefit of all but not being travelled on by elected politicians or public servants.

It is about the train that is our political and public service systems that having been derailed for decades. It is about it being put back on those rails and a return to the Rule of Law.

It is not “the promise of a true democracy…” returning, as Mr Calamaro proclaims, it is the way it should be done and should have been done always and should be enforced by any self-respecting government.

NO IMPROVEMENT VISIBLE

Who is going to do it? TG? Unlikely unless it becomes a real political party and force. It seems to be very far from that destination.

Well, if not them, let us hope someone does before we go over the edge and the train cannot be put back on the rails, if we have not already gone over the edge.

There is nothing on the horizon, especially not yet TG, unless the GSD renews and reforms to become a credible alternative.

A GSD Government as currently constituted by default is unlikely to deliver what is needed: TRUTH! Its election by default promises little.

23/07/2025

GSLP DEAD IN THE WATER

There is a time when one should recognise that the party is over: that time has arrived for Chief Minister Fabian Picardo and his government. He does not recognise that reality, nor does his GSLP governing party.

It should finalise the Gibexit treaty, do nothing else, and then leave.

Mr Picardo and his GSLP fight a losing rearguard action, trying to save their reputation and the GSLP-Liberals from the controversy that has arisen since publication of the Principal Auditor’s Report 2018/19 [Report].

We will wait on the publication of future reports to see if criticism of the GSLP-Liberal Government will continue.

In the meantime, the GSLP party organ, the ‘New People’ preaches central control of the press, rather than its freedom, as guaranteed by the Constitution.

It is all weakly counteracted by a proposed public meeting organised by Together Gibraltar (see further below), and the usual complacency of the leadership-lacking GSD.

GSLP MISGOVERNS

The GSLP’s every act, however, worsens the situation as defensive, yet aggressive, criticism is no answer.

The GSLP is misgoverning for its own survival.

The Liberals play along with the GSLP (as always).

They have no political future without its alliance with the GSLP. The non-existent Liberal Party is a misuse of political space.

No electable alternative arises from the vacuum yet.

FURIOUS REACTION

The current raging political public controversy is no longer fully about the contents of the Report. Although those are important and many go to the core of good governance.

It is now more about Mr Picardo’s and the GSLP-Liberal’s very wrong reaction to it.

To boot, we get the ‘New People’s’, the GSLP rag’s, disgraceful authoritarian, no dictatorial, criticism of the national broadcaster, GBC.

Gibraltar’s democracy needs an electable alternative.

CHOICE NEEDED

Gibraltar is a constitutional democracy with shortcomings that need correcting, but with just inaction on that front.

However, a choice is needed at the next general election to safeguard and improve that democracy.

Gibraltar should certainly not be controlled, however, by a left-wing authoritarian regime of Soviet or Chinese proportions, whatever the ‘New People’ may preach.

The GSD, whilst under Keith Azopardi, is not a credible alternative, but in the end, it may be Hobson’s choice.

The GSD under Mr Azopardi will change little. He was a GSD Minister once and changed little.

The likelihood of a workable new party arising are slim, despite that an effort is being launched by Together Gibraltar, a political party presently lacking much prominence or presence, at a meeting, to be held this afternoon.

It hopes to organise a much-needed campaign, which should be widely supported. Unfortunately, Together Gibraltar lacks charisma presently.

PERSONAL ATTACK

The Chief Minister has come out with a personal attack on the relevant individual, the author of the Report, in the form of a motion presented to Parliament.

The motion is an unconstitutional act and one contrary to natural justice and basic constitutional rights and freedoms. Enough has been written to support that by various individuals and been published in the Gibraltar Chronicle.

Hopefully the powers that be will intervene to prevent the threatened misuse of Parliament by acting to stop what is developing in Parliament.

DEFENDING THE ‘UNDERDOG’

If Gibraltar is about anything it is about defending the ‘underdog’.

Gibraltar itself is the ‘underdog’ in international politics, but its defence of what it stands for is ferocious and to date successful.

Gibraltar will defend the Principal Auditor in the same way.

LOST FIGHT

Mr Picardo you have lost the people. However right you are on the findings of the Report, and you are wrong in most regards, those views have become secondary now.

What is relevant is that you have used power to pick on someone, and now you are using your political power and position to try to squash him and the Report.

You will not succeed as people will rally now around the ‘underdog’, who you bully, despite your government’s reported failures.

Further there are still five Principal Auditor’s reports outstanding. What will those say about your administration and its actions?

VOTERS WILL WIN

The electorate will use its voting power at a general election to squash your government. You will have taken your GSLP party to that disaster, even if you do not stand then as its leader.

Any new leader, be it Gemma Arias-Vasquez, John Cortes or Nigel Feetham, will not be able to climb the ‘mountain’ that you have put in front of them by your words and actions.

The ‘mountain’ needs to be conquered now for the GSLP to be able to win the next general election. It won’t be.

THE LIBERALS

Whilst on subject, ‘que pinta’ the Liberals, they don’t exist as a party.

Everyone knows that it is the GSLP who govern. ‘El Joseph no llega a ningún lao sin el GSLP’. He would never have been in Parliament as ‘leader’ of the non-existent Liberal Party.

Yet the GSLP appoint Joseph Garcia Deputy Chief Minister: ‘valiente broma’.

So, he/they (The Liberals) will not provide an alternative government to the GSLP at any general election.

WHAT ALTERNATIVE?

Well, right now, therefore, the GSD, under the leadership of the political disappointment that Keith Azopardi has been to date, is the only available alternative.

Mr Azopardi was a Minister for several years in the GSD administration led by Sir Peter Caruana. He abandoned/deserted the GSD after eight years. Subsequently, he led the PDP to electoral failure. Then he has led the GSD to electoral failure twice.

So, does the Gibraltar electorate want him as Chief Minister?

It seems clearly not, but well, he may be the only alternative if the GSD does not reform, or if a new party does not arise that includes credible people who could be seen to form a government.

Surely, Mr Azopardi you are too proud to allow yourself to win an election solely by default? If you win now that will be the view.

Improve the chances of the GSD winning, and so Gibraltar, winning, by stepping down and helping the GSD to look for a charismatic and electable leader.

He/she must be one that will announce and persist with good and sound policies to make systemic improvements.

‘NEW PEOPLE’ RAG

As if what is happening over the Principal Auditor is not enough, the ‘New People’, the propaganda organ and rag of the GSLP, are now propounding ‘State’ control of news media in Gibraltar.

It clearly mirrors the idea of an authoritarian Fascist or Communist State. Surely the GSLP must know this is wrong and that Gibraltar will not accept it?

In Its latest edition it proposes, “This might also be the right moment to remind GBC and its audience that the broadcaster’s current state-of -the-art premises were made possible by the incumbent [GSLP] Government. It’s worth considering how gratitude for such public support might sit alongside calls to “hold power to account.”

The inherent extreme threat is obvious. The reference to GSLP Government “public support” requiring censorship favourable to them is abhorrently wrong and undemocratic. It is centrist and dictatorial.

GBC uses public funds contributed by all in Gibraltar. It is not GSLP ‘money’, which is what supposedly the ‘New People’ uses to pay its way, or is it?

GBC is obliged to report independently and without bias.

The ‘New People’ preach extreme Stalinist and Leninist left-wing undemocratic tactics, of the ilk of Soviet Russia and Communist China akin to Hitlerian and Francoist fascist ones.

All are contrary to democracy, free speech, human rights and Part 1 of our Constitution.

The GSLP are not serious any longer. They are a bad joke: a dangerous bad joke, or are they a threat, to continued democracy. Thankfully, despite its shortcomings, the Constitution prevents that changing.

NEW PARTY MEETING

The likelihood of a new political party or parties coming forward is very slender, but not impossible.

Together Gibraltar, a political party that has presented a full candidature at a general election in the past, have called a meeting to discuss that “some in our society have been profiting greatly from the current system at great cost of many of us”, following the events surrounding the Report.

It is a start, however small, that must be encouraged.

The meeting, which is open to the public, will be held at the Royal Calpe on Main Street, at 5:30 p.m. today, Wednesday 23rd July.

It is intended “to discuss a list of specific demands to campaign for, following the Principal Auditor’s Report”.

Irrespective of support or not for Together Gibraltar, attendance is important at this juncture of Gibraltar’s political cycle.

I will attend the meeting. I urge all to do so also.

A workable change and way forward are necessary. It must include electoral and parliamentary reforms and updates to the Constitution to avoid a repeat of recent events.

So, people you have a first date with your democratic future later today, please turn up.

22/07/2025

GSLP-LIBERALS LOSING GROUND, BUT WHAT ALTERNATIVE? (And meanwhile, UK ringfences Defence interests)

(as published in the Gibraltar Chronicle on 21st July)

The GSLP-Liberal Government’s unwarranted personalised political attack on the recently retired Principal Auditor, despite their praise of him just a few weeks ago, calls for a change of government.

Additionally, there is growing discontent with the GSLP-Liberal Government anyway.

However, the current GSD Opposition, whilst under the leadership of Keith Azopardi, are an uninspiring alternative lacking direction.

Further, the UK do not act in the face of local political abuses save to protect their Defence interests in the Gibexit treaty from any future change in Gibraltar’s international status.

CRITICISM ALWAYS FAVOURS OPPOSITION

The Government accuses that Principal Auditor of bias favouring the GSD in his 2018/19 Report [Report] without basis.

It has gone to the extent of proposing now a censure motion against him in Parliament, knowing that it cannot lose, nor can he defend himself.

It is a cheap, disgraceful and a bullying stunt. The GSLP-Liberals are converting Parliament into a kangaroo court where the accused cannot appear to defend himself. It is constitutionally wrong and should be stopped by the Speaker.

If the Speaker does not act, as is her duty, it calls for intervention by the Governor to protect an Officer of Parliament.

Any public criticism of any government by anyone, especially an officer of Parliament, favours opposition parties. It is a reality of life.

No sufficient checks and balances were included in the Gibraltar Constitution Order (2006) [Constitution] or in law to allow for a government to be defeated in Parliament, so our democratic system is deficient.

A government, and so principally a Chief Minister, can do much as they, or he or she, pleases during their terms in office, except where Defence matters are engaged.

The GSD motion of no confidence in the Chief Minister is bound to fail, due to the structure of Parliament. The point of it, however, is to allow debate and argument, which will bring everything to the fore and so to public attention.

VALID CRITICISMS

There are valid criticisms in the Report. The GSLP-Liberals play a game of attack and distract.

Careful analysis of their attacks shows a lack of substance; substantive criticisms in the Report are ignored, that is aggravated by them not having made their points during the compilation of the Report.

The GSLP-Liberals have failed, as shown by the flood of defensive and critical Government press releases.

The GSLP-Liberals are showing, generally, that they are unfit to govern as demonstrated also by the Report’s criticisms.

There is growing public discontent against them, which is spreading quickly.

NO ALTERNATIVE- YET

The problem is finding an alternative with clear policies and goals, including correcting what is wrong.

The GSD, under Keith Azopardi, do not provide that. They are stale and do not come up with positive plans that encourage a vote in their favour. They sit on the fence, without being positive in their policies and interactions.

There are many needed positive policies that can be publicised without alienating any voters, not least the need to improve democracy through electoral and parliamentary reforms, including a Public Accounts Committee.

CREDIBLE ALTERNATIVE NEEDED

Finding a credible alternative to the GSLP-Liberals and GSD is vital for Gibraltar to keep self-government with a British flag.

A young and vibrant party with clear policies, aims and goals for the future within a Gibexit scenario should rise.

Alternatively, the GSD need reinvigorating under new, younger, skilled and ambitious leadership with greater initiative, and more positive and clear policies, aims and goals.

LEADERSHIP AND SYSTEMIC CHANGE

The Gibexit treaty will require strong leadership to defend our separate identity, and our public and governmental institutions, and to reinforce them. None of the current political parties preach that.

All incumbent governments from time to time are accused of misgovernment but still no needed systemic checks and balances are introduced in Gibraltar. There are many. One is a better electoral system; another is a separation of powers between the legislature and the executive.

They do not suit those who look to govern us. They are on a quest for power and what comes with that.

BAD GOVERNMENT MUST END

The cycle of bad governance, with public accusations of favouritism, payments from public money, even corruption, and on many other fronts, being whispered by many, against whoever may be elected to government, must be ended.

The problem seems institutionalised, and, to a degree, as being ‘eso es lo que hay’.

It needs to be cleaned through neutral constitutional, democratic and governmental change, imposed by the UK, if necessary, but preferably introduced democratically by a new political force.

CONSTITUTIONAL IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED

The main one is being able to defeat a government to force an election. Overthrowing a government is an impossibility now.

The legislature (Parliament) and the executive government (the chief minister and ministers) are one and the same, in brief, there is no separation of powers just near absolute control.

No minister will rebel and lose power, and so his or her lucrative salary, and the added social and other benefits the position brings.

Parliament should be the oversight of and the control over the executive government.

For that it needs reform, as now it hardly keeps the government in check, beyond the criticisms of the Opposition, who yield no power to defeat an incumbent government, save the possibility of forming government by winning a general election.

Just look at the repercussions raining down from the GSLP-Liberal Government on the Principal Auditor, including an unconstitutional parliamentary censure motion that contravenes natural justice, simply because he shone a narrow torch onto deficiencies.

PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMITTEE

There is no Public Accounts Committee to review how public (our) money is spent, and to uncover and control misspending.

The Principal Auditor has been vilified for mentioning the need for one in the Report. He is right, there is a need for one.

It is not a political issue. It is about good and prudent government; Gibraltar is the only British Overseas Territory without one.

BENEFITS TO WIN

A government can do much as it pleases throughout most of its term with little control; then just before an election, it can give out ‘sweeties’ to help it being re-elected, until, over time, it starts to drown in its own sewage swamp.

The GSLP-Liberals seem to be in that place now. They look to be on their way out, with unpopularity growing daily.

There is no clear replacement for them. A new political party, or a reformed GSD under inspiring leadership, is needed who will take the action required to clean up public life.

Are we encouraging direct rule?

Well probably, but that likely does not suit the UK’s plans for Gibraltar’s future, which is primarily Defence.

NO OTHER UK ACTION

Even with current misgovernment, there is no action from the UK, despite the evidence of lack of ‘peace, order and good government’. Those are constitutional limits on the Gibraltar Parliament and executive government.

Further, ‘internal security’ is being diluted but the UK does not act. ‘Internal security’ is the constitutional responsibility of the UK, through the Governor.

History shows that the Foreign Office will not interfere but rather act to avoid a constitutional issue.

THE MILITARY

Interestingly, the phrase ‘military autonomy’ is used in the EU Gibexit treaty. It refers to UK Defence presence. It’s use highlights the separation of those from civilian matters.

The latter are administered by our elected representatives in exercise of ‘self-determination’, as devolved under the Constitution, so they can be messed up, as is happening.

The Constitution places Defence in the exclusive hands of the Governor, therefore with the Ministry of Defence.

The hope is that the use of the word ‘autonomy’ does not reflect any long-term protection for Defence installations, should sovereignty ever become a real issue needing resolution with Spain.

The Foreign Office and the Ministry of Defence are renowned for their long-term planning.

‘DOUBLE LOCK’ VERSUS DEFENCE

British sovereignty over civilian and military Gibraltar is protected now by the UK’s double lock political commitment. It is, not to change our sovereignty against our freely and democratically expressed wishes, and not to enter sovereignty negotiations without our approval.

Defence interests and lands are protected now by British sovereignty; should that change, the word ‘autonomy’ defines military interests within any new civilian Gibraltar sovereignty status needing to be negotiated.

21/07/2025

GOVERNOR SPEAKS

The Governor, Lt. Gen. Sir Ben Bathurst treads carefully on all fronts in the interview published today in the Gibraltar Chronicle.

It makes interesting reading when compared to and contrasted with my Opinion piece, and Nick Cruz’s letter, both published in that same newspaper today.

Sir Ben delves into the Gibexit treaty, its implementation, policing matters, public scrutiny (McGrail), the public audit and Defence and security. Many topics covered also in my Opinion piece of today.

What is obvious is the diplomacy used so as not to create any ripples on what, for now, are calm waters, but in that venture the UK, through him, portray a rosy picture, that may soon be disturbed on some fronts by very clear events that are now very public.

AUDIT ROW

Sir Ben described the controversy over the 2018/19 Principal Auditor’s Report [Report] as “the process working.”

It would be so if it was the Report that was going to be debated in Parliament (despite its constitutional inbuilt bias), as expected by Sir Ben which is implicit in his comments, but that is not how events have developed since he spoke.

He was commenting before the motion condemning the former Principal Auditor was laid by the GSLP-Liberals in Parliament.

That motion drastically now changes matters. It is a personal attack on and judgmental process against a constitutional parliamentary and public officer undertaking a protected constitutional role.

There is a process before the Report is published. It engages the government and public service informing any findings of the Principal Auditor, so all answers should have preceded the Report, not that seemingly they are being published now by the GSLP-Liberals, after its publication.

The events beggar belief.

Undoubtedly the incumbent government, at the time such a report is published, can debate it and comment on it in Parliament, as Sir Ben has said.

However, that is not what is happening.

It is not the audit that is being debated, it is the integrity of the maker, the then Principal Auditor, in a forum in which he is not able to defend himself.

Having spoken on subject, surely, Sir Ben should act now, on what is an unconstitutional act of and injudicious process by the GSLP-Liberal Government.

As described in my Chronicle Opinion, the GSLP-Liberal motion is a process that breaches the Constitution and natural justice.

The Speaker must act on it also.

The very foundations of parliamentary democracy are threatened by the current events over the Report.

It is proving that Gibraltar does not have parliamentary democracy, as argued often by me. What we have is limited to electoral democracy.

Nick Cruz in a letter to the Chronicle published today also, rightly states that we have “our Chief Minister … trying to deny the undeniable … as if we are all so dumb that we now believe that the courageous Principal Auditor … is part of some … conspiracy to make mischief against Fabian Picardo … for political bias reasons.”

He describes also the GSLP-Liberal motion as “disingenuous accusations” and as “unconstitutional”. Seeking that if all that Fabian Picardo “can now do is bully and silence, ‘Just Go’. Please ‘Go’ …”.

Sir Ben said, before these developments, “… the report should contain the Government’s perspective and any challenge it wishes to make because otherwise the process isn’t working quite as it should.”

But for that to be so there is an absolute need for cooperation from the Government with the Principal Auditor in the process of its preparation. The Report and evolving events, not least the Government’s flurry of press releases, point to an absence of that.

The conclusion must be that the GSLP-Liberal Government has failed.

As Sir Ben says, “the process … goes full circle to the next election.” But where does that leave parliamentary democracy now, Sir Ben?

We wait to see if the current Government will see its full term through.

MCGRAIL REPORT AWAITED

The McGrail Inquiry, when it reports, and if it is made public in full, is another front that will more than likely lead to a constitutional and political squall, which may develop into another storm, or even a hurricane.

Sir Ben is right. We must wait on the report of the Inquiry Chairperson.

It is reassuring to hear that “… whatever happens, we will address it … its not so much what’s happened, but what do you actually do about it?”

Surely there is no question mark on that. What you do is process any perpetrators of ill-doings and punish them, aside from putting right what is found to be wrong. On that Sir Ben gives reassurance, He says “And that would be my focus.”

Sir Ben goes on “… if something comes out that’s uncomfortable, again, if it’s happened, it’s happened. It’s what you do about it next. Do we learn the lessons?”

Absolutely, not only Gibraltar but the Governor and the UK must learn the lessons, but that is not enough, as is implicit in that question. Action must be taken, corrections made, and perpetrators dealt with based on the outcome of and criticisms in the Inquiry Report.

It is not just about learning lessons. It is about action.

GIBEXIT TREATY

Sir Ben says about the agreement for a Gibexit treaty, “It’s a real triumph…” which has resulted in accord, with sovereignty being parked.

Sovereignty is parked, but a parked car at some stage must move. It can only move within the constraints of the parking space that it finds itself in.

If the car in front, the UK, has parked too close, and the car behind, Spain also, there is not much room to manoeuvre.

Is that where the Gibexit treaty between the UK/Gibraltar and the EU/Spain places the car that is Gibraltar?

It is in that context that perhaps Sir Ben’s words, “The sovereignty clause absolutely protects the UK sovereignty of Gibraltar and, in doing so the self-determination of the Gibraltar people” need examination.

The self-determination lies within the ‘parking’ constraints of financial and economic reality, and their dependence on Spain.

Sir Ben points to the implementation of a Gibexit treaty as being challenging, whilst pointing to ‘no deal’ as being “much, much worse”.

“I am not going to downplay the challenge, but it will also be quite exciting.” He names no specific frictions, however.

DEFENCE AND SECURITY

Sir Ben gives the reassurance that the UK Strategic Defence Review emphasised the ‘critical’ role Gibraltar plays.

He highlights that all agencies involved in defence and security work closely with the Gibraltar Government, its agencies and departments.

It is an importance that must be viewed now within the concept of ‘military autonomy’ as it is referred to now in the intended Gibexit treaty.

In turn that is circumscribed by Sir Ben’s admission that Spain views the military presence with some suspicion, whilst pointing to cooperating within NATO and the participation of a Spanish frigate in the UK Carrier Strike Group.

Is that not something that can be seen as working both ways?

POLICING

Sir Ben focusses on the need to reinforce the ability of the Gibraltar Police Authority [GPA] to do its job.

Worryingly, he suggests that complaints should not all be dealt with by the GPA, but rather many dealt with by the police themselves. It is not a suggestion that meets the requirements of independence.

If the GPA are not to deal with all complaints, so be it, but then an intermediary police complaints tribunal is needed to be interposed to ensure independence and the belief in independence.

Sir Ben refers to the Royal Gibraltar Police losing many experienced officers in recent times. He carefully avoids going into the reasons for that. They are frightening, as shown in and by the Report. They need to be dealt with.

Sir Ben also mentions the need for greater recruitment, especially from amongst locals.

HIDDEN CONCERNS

There are worrying issues bubbling up or kept just under the surface. None of those are touched on by Sir Ben.

The main ones are political and financial instability.

There is little doubt that Chief Minister Fabian Picardo is fast losing his political grip. Change will be coming at some point. At the latest when the current term of this GSLP-Liberal Government expires.

There are many signs that public finances are not in the buoyant state that GSLP-Liberal propaganda point them to be in.

There is nothing on the horizon that will fil the vacuum left by the GSLP-Liberals, which is already present by the recent activities of the Chief Minister.

As I write in my Chronicle Opinion, “The cycle of bad governance, with public accusations of favouritism, payments from public money, even corruption, and on many other fronts, being whispered by many, against whoever may be elected to government, must be ended.”

There is no party in sight that will do that.

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