Oct 20 - Government Says GSD Is “Living In A Parallel Universe” In Relation To Brexit
The Government has said that the Opposition “continue with their policy of scaremongering, a policy which proved to be a disaster for them at the last general election.” Number Six, in the latest exchange on Gibraltar’s post-Brexit future, adds that the GSD has clearly not understood that the people of Gibraltar have seen, and continue to see, “straight through their shallow and self- serving comments.”
A statement continued: “Can they really believe that an issue as crucial as Brexit was dreamt up by the GSLP/Liberal administration just to distract the electorate from matters of government expenditure? They cannot honestly be suggesting that Mr Margallo is making his outrageous threats against Gibraltar just as a smokescreen to draw attention away from our Government’s level of spending.
“The timing of these ludicrous comments from the Opposition is particularly serious, given that they have chosen to play politics when Mr Margallo was in the Campo Area and the Chief Minister was in Seville, building alliances for Gibraltar. They have no more sense of timing than they do of statesmanship.
“The truth is that Mr Feetham and his party are full of contradictions. On the one hand they argue that the Government should do more, which clearly will involve greater expenditure. On the other hand, they complain that the Government is spending too much. They call for unity on Brexit and then go on to promote disunity by being critical in public of the hard work that the Government has done so far in this regard. In one moment they wrongly accuse the Government of engaging in distraction, and then in the next moment they engage in distraction themselves by responding to the Government’s statement on Brexit with one of their own about public finances!
“It is clear that the Opposition will never be happy no matter what the Government does. Their sole purpose appears to be to undermine the Government at this sensitive time in order to promote disunity, to generate uncertainty and to divide Gibraltar. This failed strategy has not worked in the past and it will not work now.
“It is quite incredible that, having just agreed to assess the impact of the departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union in a Select Committee together with the Government, the Opposition nonetheless continue to issue press releases on the matter as if they preferred to act on their own. They are perfectly free to do this but need to understand that the point will come when they cannot have it both ways.
“The fact is that the Opposition behave as if they are living alone in a parallel universe. There is very positive feedback precisely about the way in which the Government has set about promoting the interests of Gibraltar by working hand in hand with the United Kingdom. This is happening already. It has been happening from the moment that the result of the referendum was known and indeed in some areas even before then. The Opposition behave as if they were unaware of this or simply want to distort reality for their own political ends. Mr Feetham and his colleagues are only deluding themselves. Everyone else is well aware that the Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister have been received by members of the UK Government at the highest level, including by the Prime Minister Theresa May on the very day that she was appointed to the post.
“In addition to this, the Government has for many weeks established wide consultation across all areas of the administration and with the community at large on the impact of Brexit on Gibraltar. This work has led to a detailed report which will be submitted to the United Kingdom for channelling through the new Department for Exiting the European Union in order to ensure that the interests of Gibraltar are presented to all relevant parties.
“It is therefore the Opposition and not the Government who are engaging in distraction and in red herrings. Their approach would be comical were the issues at stake not so important.”
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