Posted on 08/12/2013 12:08:34 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
If they’re looking for a compromise, I’d be willing to take over as benevolent dictator, if the pay was adequate.
Negotiations with a lightsaber...
You're thinking Hong Kong. Gibraltar is British territory in perpetuity, even though numerous British administrations have tried to hand it back to Spain, only to back off in the face of adverse British public reaction.
Good question.
Thank you for that information about the legal status of Gilbralter. I did some reading up and I was in error. It's what I was told on the tour.
I've learned a lesson here....check facts presented on tours.
“There have been two elections, and both times it would just about redefine the word landslide:
Vote in 1967: 12,138 votes to 44, NO WAY!
Vote in 2002: 17,900 votes to 187, NO WAY!”
Meaningless; transplant enough settlers and you’ll get enough votes (as in the north of Ireland). We live in a country where we kicked out those who voted like the pro-Brits in Gibraltar...
In '67, voter turnout was 96%. So, I guess presuming that 12,138 were "transplanted settlers", then, sure, it would have been a landslide the other way: with 44 voting to go with Spain, and 4% not interested enough to vote (that would be another 435 eligible voters).
In 2002, voter turnout increased to 99.51%. I guess 17900 people... oh, I mean "transplanted settlers" tipped the scales, otherwise the 187 would have won to return to Spain.
You have to wonder whether Spain REALLY want Gibraltar because the ‘issue’ of Gibraltar is far more important to a struggling government than the territory itself would be.
If they wanted Gibraltar so badly they would have spent time attempting to woo the populace - treating them with kid gloves, offering incentives for them to ultimately be open to Spanish sovereignty, love bombing them - not treating them like this.
The Spanish government is in a mess right now. Scandals have hit their king, and Mariano Rajoy, the prime minister, seems powerless as unemployment continues to rise on an extraordinary scale. Gibraltar, like the Falklands for the ghastly Kirchner, must be a wonderful respite from domestic woes.
The impotent hypocritical rage of Rajoy and Kirchner would be amusing to watch if it didn’t cause such inconvenience and concern to the citizens of Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands. The pair will make an interesting team. Let them embrace each other. By your friends ye shall be known. The British are alongside the Americans in Afghanistan. I’m sure the Spanish and Argentine governments will delight in anti-British rhetoric, but it will not help the hard-pressed citizens of either nation.
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