The Opposition, over the last eight weeks. has ‘instituted a deliberate policy to say as little as possible on the current crisis with Spain to give the Government the political space to resolve that crisis’. They also claim that they have not engaged the Government in any intense political battles on domestic issues as they did formally on the Sunborn and Gibraltar Savings Bank.

Commenting on Gibraltar’s current relation with Spain, Opposition Leader Daniel Feetham noted, ‘whilst outlining the fact, on a number of occasions, that we would have dealt with certain critical issues differently and that we are seeing played out what I described in June of last year as “a clash of philosophies” in terms of the approach of the GSD and the GSLP/Liberals to relations with Spain, a debate on political responsibility for the current crisis, at this moment in time, had to come second to any attempt to resolve it.  That has underpinned our entire approach to this issue.” 

‘Instead we opted, in the national interest, to provide the Government with my views in private, which I have tried to do in a candid, forthright and constructive way”. 

‘However, at every stage we have also reserved the right to address the community in the future as to the way in which the Government has handled the current crisis and its responsibility for it.  The debate in Parliament on the amendments to the Nature Protection Act to allow Spanish Fishermen to fish with nets will allow for that opportunity.’