By Adriana Lopez

The GSLP-Liberals held a public meeting last night at John Mackintosh Hall. They addressed a packed to capacity theatre for almost three hours. The backdrop featured their new manifesto commitment with the tagline “aspire to be the best Gibraltar” for all ‘generations’ and a big hashtag that read #greenGibraltar.

Throughout the evening, the GSLP-Liberal candidates each took to the stage to recap some of the projects and developments that they have seen through during the last eight years. The meeting ended with speeches by Liberal leader Dr Joseph Garcia and GSLP leader Fabian Picardo, who set out the agenda for the next four years with a colourful PowerPoint presentation.

The first to take to the stage was Sir Joe Bosano. He spoke about Gibraltar’s economy and the effects of Brexit and predicted that although the economy “has doubled since 2011”, the growth was likely to slow down following our departure from the EU. He also held the view that the GSLP- Liberals were the only ones prepared to take this challenge on.

“Our manifesto is the only one that has a programme to ensure that we protect our economy, protect our standard of living, protect our health service, protect our public sector and protect our education, because we have a programme that will ensure Gibraltar’s economy will be the only economy that continues to grow after the 1^st of November,” he said.

Samantha Sacramento spoke about her time as Housing Minister. She claimed the GSLP-Liberals “have done more for housing than anyone else in Gibraltar”, as a total of 2,340 new homes across 5 projects (Beach View Terraces, Mons Calpe Mews, Chatham Views, Bob Peliza Mews and Hassans Centinery Terraces) had been finished or commissioned by the last government before calling the election.

She went on to speak about her responsibilities as Minister of Equality.  She pointed out the rainbow flag flying high in the auditorium and went on to say that “2011 didn’t just mean a change of government; it meant a fundamental change of principle so that everybody in our community could be included and treated as an equal”.

Steven Linares spoke about the new LNG power station. He claimed that that the newest and safest technology had been used to construct the new site and called on Trevor Hammond to “dejarse de rollo that it’s not safe, it’s the best technology in the world”.

Mr Linares also went on to say that Fabian Picardo and Dr Joe Garcia had worked relentlessly at fostering relationships with the UK since the referendum. He added that “we have never had this in Gibraltar, where we can phone or get a plane and go and see directly the Prime Minister”.

Next, Vijay Daryanani addressed the audience for the first time since being chosen as a candidate. He began by thanking Neil Costa, who is now an election agent for GSLP-Liberals, for his time as minister. He pledged to “work hand in glove with the unions” and to “keep Gibraltar safe”.

Known for riding around Gibraltar on a bicycle, Paul Balban was next and emphasised the need of converting Gibraltar into a “child-friendly city, as our children matter the most and we must do this for them”. He promised that if elected, he would introduce ‘safer roads and greener ways’ as well as bicycle lanes to develop a “green Gibraltar”.

Gilbert Licudi emphasised the theme of the election as “all our generations in our hearts”. He likened the Brexit challenge to other historic events like the closure of the frontier and the dockyard, but promised to “tackle (Brexit) head on”.

He suggested that in the UK they are waiting to get Brexit done so politics can focus on the domestic agenda. Mr Licudi claimed that the incumbent government has “not waited for Brexit to be done” and “been able to get on with all infrastructures, whilst at the same time dealing with and planning for Brexit, not even the UK has been able to do that”.

Amongst cheers of ‘el jardinero’, Dr John Cortes took to the stage. He declared that the day the GSLP-Liberal was elected in 2011 was “Gibraltar’s Liberation Day”, as previously Gibraltar had been “living under the cloud, not levanter, but the GSD”.

Dr Cortes claimed the GSLP-Liberals were the true champions of environment after introducing 180 laws in their time in government. He also pointed out that Gibraltar has been complying with EU environmental regulations the last few years, for the first time in history.

Albert Isola spoke about championing the need of an internationalist outlook post-Brexit. He claimed that “ministers from UK and other places across the world cannot believe that with the mess they’ve had in the UK, we’ve been able to do what we’ve done”.

Mr Isola added that Gibraltar has been able to “safeguard the business community in Gibraltar with certainty that no one has […] whatever happens with Brexit – hard Brexit, soft Brexit, no Brexit, Brexit”.   He also high lightened that Brexit had not weakened the Rock’s employment - in particular, the gaming industry had seen an increase from 2,000 to 3,500 jobs.

In true historian fashion, leader of the Liberals, Dr Joe Garcia began his speech by marking the 50th anniversary since the UN told UK and Spain to begin the process of decolonisation, “a deadline that came and went, 50 years later, we’re still standing”.

During his address, Dr Garcia claimed that this would be the “Brexit Generation” and that there was no better deal than remaining in the EU. However, he reassured that Gibraltar would survive Brexit because he and the Chief Minister have “missed sports days and parents evenings” as they had spent the last three years “living out of suitcases” and attended “over 500 meetings”.

The leader of the GSLP Fabian Picardo, began his speech by analysing what the government had done over the last eight years. He claimed that with this election “we will aspire to the best Gibraltar” with “a manifesto for government that will deliver a green Gibraltar that will deliver a child-friendly Gibraltar and deliver a secure passage for Brexit”. 

Amongst several promises, Mr Picardo announced seven new parks for Gibraltar, more houses and rental homes if necessary, more schools, further developments to Europa Pool and the renovation of Rosia Bay. He also announced the first ‘Museum of Gibraltarian History and the ‘Naval and Military Museum’.

As the meeting ended, all candidates took to the front of the stage to wave at the audience with a backdrop which read “Safe, Stable, Secure” whilst the tune of ‘Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now’ played through the theatre.