Dec 09 - GSD: Reshuffle Shows Government “Not Making Impact Picardo Desires”
Today's Government reshuffle so close to a General Election is an indication that the Government is not making the impact the Chief Minister desires, according to the GSD.
The party says that the move of Mr Bossano away from Employment is a reflection of that. Employment was Mr Bossano’s and the GSLP's flag ship policy at the last election, according to the Opposition, and it was “very aggressively sold to the electorate, particularly our young.”
The GSD admits it has had “very major differences” with the Government in this area, in particular regarding the Government Future Job Strategy, which the party says “has been condemning many of our young people to no or inadequate training.”
The GSD says it has been calling on the Government to abandon this scheme for one which genuinely provides for the training needs of Gibraltar’s youth and unemployed and the economy in general. The party now hopes that the change in personalities in this area “will signal an end to this failed scheme.”
The Opposition says that Minister Costa said during his interview with GBC that unemployment had been reduced to 200. However, says the GSD, unemployment stands at 373 at the end of the third quarter of this year. In addition, it argues that unemployment was never 1,000 in any of the years the GSD was in administration as suggested by Minister Bossano. In December 2011, for example, it was just over 400. The GSD nevertheless wishes the Minister well in his new portfolio and hopes he soon “gets to grip with these figures.”
GBC Poll
The GSD further adds that the salient point arising from the recent opinion poll conducted for GBC is that there is a very significant number of undecided voters, more than half the electorate if the result is to be accepted.
A statement from the party continues: “Elections are inevitably a judgment by the electorate on the performance of the Government of the day. This poll is very far from a vote of confidence in a first term government which is spending its way through this parliament, pandering to almost every sector of the electorate. Significantly for the GSD, it also represents a huge opportunity to turn as many of those votes into support for the party.
“In summary any future election result is unpredictable based on these figures, making the democratic process of trying to persuade those undecided voters to vote for the GSD all the more challenging and exciting. There is everything to play for.”
