Only 22% of Spaniards say that Gibraltar's sovereignty is a priority

An opinion poll in Spain about the likely effects of Brexit, including relations with Britain, posed a specific question on Gibraltar.

PRIORITY OR NOT?

Partcipants were told: There are people who think that for Spain it should be a priority to seek to negotiate the sovereignty or joint sovereignty over Gibraltar, while other people take the view that it is not a priority.

*Asked if it was a priority, only 22.3% replied in the affirmative.

*51.9% said it was relevant but not a priority.

*And 19% said it was neither relevant nor a priority.

Spanish right-wing parties, such as Vox and the PP, gave just over one-third of their votes to sovereignty being a priority matter. But the rest were less vehement when it came to Gibraltar.

Of late, Spanish policy has been to deflect from the 'sovereignty or nothing' policy that has characterised official policy in Spain in the past. It is now more important to have good relations and to highlight issues which are more relevant to their citizens.

There have been periods in Spanish history where the Gibraltar issue has also attracted a softer policy from Madrid, but this seems to depend who is in power there, thus the vast majority of people in Gibraltar are always cautious about the changing scene in Spanish politics.

This latest poll would seem to indicate that the average Spaniard does not consider the sovereignty issue as a major concern, whatever some Spanish political parties might think.

FIRST EVER INTERVIEW

Way back in March 1978, when I became the first ever Gibraltarian journalist to be granted a formal interview by a Spanish foreign minister in the foreign ministry in Madrid, the then incumbent of the post Marcelino Oreja took a much softer line than his predecessors, projecting his views with moderation and tact and urging that the problem be defused, that we should establish a climate of mutual confidence and look ahead in a positive and flexible manner without either side adopting dogmatic postures.

That was a leap forward from the intransigent and hardline policies of his predecessors.

Now, only 22% in a Spanish opinion poll say that Gibraltar's sovereignty is a priority...

11-03-2020 PANORAMAdailyGIBRALTAR