John Culatto
A MASTERFUL presentation of the economic plan that could bring Gibraltar through Brexit was given by GSLP founder Sir Joe Bossano.
The father of the house put the environment first as he promised Gibraltar would continue its economic growth with the GSLP/Liberal manifesto.
It was followed by the manifesto presentations of both Together Gibraltar and the GSD the following day as the parties battle for the right to lead Parliament.
Chief Minister Fabian Picardo spoke of the need to build a ‘Green Gibraltar’ which will be ‘the child-friendly city of the future’, pointing to his goal of working for middle class families.
“We have to build in a way that is sustainable for our people to preserve their future,” he insisted.
These plans include the completion of the walkway through all of the town centre presented at the last elections.
They also include a very well-planned strategy for the possibility of no-deal Brexit, which could cause real frontier problems.
With a continuation of the school renovation programme, the 148 page manifesto is a comprehensive guide to taking Gibraltar forward.
Fresh ideas
Although half the size, the manifesto effort by Together Gibraltar presented some new ideas to put into the local equation.
From the pedestrianisation of Line Wall Road to bicycle routes and the public opening of the Moorish Castle walls, the party really presents a fresh look at the issues of the day.
Its pro-business mentality toward the inside makes it much more of a liberal party than the Liberals could ever be in partnership with socialists.
But in that respect it seemed to be focused more on the private sector rather than to the poorer sectors of the population, with meritocracy as opposed to equity being its core principle.
TG make strong references to equality too, addressing the gender pay and giving women the right to abortion, as is the case all over Europe.
Traditional
The GSD is the only party to clearly favour rented accommodation and its interesting 30-year plan seems to provide forward vision.
Surprisingly, the party is pushing forward with its plans to stop Gibraltar bringing its abortion laws in line with the UK, which it called ‘flawed from the outset’.
This is despite the fact the UK abortion law was passed nearly 50 years ago and is now being modernised and an abortion currently carries a life sentence on the Rock.
