John Culatto
CHIEF Minister of Gibraltar Fabian Picardo sent his ‘best wishes’ to Nicola Sturgeon as she stepped down as First Minister of Scotland.
Sturgeon said she was stepping down after eight years leading Scotland because of the ‘brutality’ of being on the front-line.
And Picardo agreed with her, speaking of how ‘tough’ it is at the top and how politics ‘takes a personal toll that is too often ignored’.
Both leaders shared similar thoughts after the 2016 Brexit referendum.
They tried to find ways where their respective nations could stay in the EU, without success.
“I have written to Nicola Sturgeon this afternoon to express my best wishes on behalf of His Majesty’s Government of Gibraltar and the people of Gibraltar as she steps back from 8 years of service as First Minister and more than two decades at the forefront of politics,” Picardo said.
“I had the pleasure of meeting the First Minister on a number of occasions in recent years as we worked to explore and develop the commonality of interests between Scotland and Gibraltar in the aftermath of Brexit.”
In June 2016, Picardo met Sturgeon to discuss ways of keeping areas of the UK inside the EU when they voted overwhelmingly to remain.
Scotland voted by 62% to stay in the EU while 96% of Gibraltarians opted against leaving the bloc.
Picardo also spoke of the price of front-line politics and how he understood Sturgeon’s decision in that light.
“The top flight of politics is tough in all jurisdictions and it takes a personal toll that is too often ignored,” the Chief Minister of Gibraltar added.
Her resignation came as SNP support dipped just as she pushed for a referendum and the UK blocked a transsexual bill she wanted to pass.
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