Nov 11 - Chief Minister Condemns Feetham’s Behaviour Over Credit Finance
The Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo, has reiterated his view that Opposition Leader Daniel Feetham’s behaviour over the Government’s Credit Finance Company when he walked out of Parliament was “simply designed to cause dramatic effect.” Mr Picardo insists it is clear that Mr Feetham was totally aware that the Government could not supply the information he wanted because of commercial confidentiality and sensitivity – something, it claims, Mr Feetham has yet to refute.
In his interview on GBC’s Newswatch, the Chief Minister argued that the GSLP/Liberal Government is the most transparent Government of Gibraltar’s democratic times with more meetings and questions in Parliament than ever before. To a question on allegations that Credit Finance Company was being used to help people and companies close to the GLSP/Liberals, Mr Picardo replied that that was “absolutely disgraceful”. He said he knew that disaffected members of the GSD have received a letter email from Daniel Feetham where he made exactly that sort of allegation. He told GBC, “That is totally untrue. If my premiership can be criticised for anything by members of the GSLP or of the Liberal Party, it’s because it does not favour them, and many people might have expected that, in winning the general election, the parties that won would have behaved like the GSD did, when it won the general election in 1996 and thereafter, and favoured their own. Mr Feetham needs to put up or shut up. He cannot demonstrate that that is true because it is untrue. Having made such a serious allegation, he has risked the public losing complete trust in him.”
In another part of the Newswatch interview, the Chief Minister said: “Our system of Government and Opposition works because the Government trusts the Chief Minister and they trust the Leader of the Opposition. We can argue about things but there must be trust between us and the population. In doing what he has done, Mr Feetham has totally demolished, in my view, the relationship that he had with the public and with his party and he needs to consider very carefully what his next step is. Remember, that he will always be recalled for having criticised the Chief Minister’s speech at the United Nations; having said that he might remove the concrete blocks which make up the artificial reef; having said that he would quickly go for Quadripartite Talks and now, this allegation, which is totally unsustainable. When you put all those together, Mr Feetham’s credibility is absolutely shot and what he needs to do is consider his position and perhaps even consider resigning.”
Mr Picardo revealed he was in contact, not just with people who are of his same political persuasion, adding he was also in contact with people of the GSD’s political persuasion. “There are very many reasonable people in the GSD who are very disappointed with the way that Mr Feetham is behaving. I never thought I’d hear myself say this, but I think the GSD deserves better than it’s getting at the moment.”
