John Culatto
FABIAN Picardo said there was ‘no was greater privilege’ than being voted Chief Minister of Gibraltar as he took the stage after winning his fourth term in a row Friday morning.
The Rock’s leader for the last 12 years singled out his deputy who topped him in the final election standings and ‘the oldest one’, Sir Joe Bossano for praise in his acceptance speech.
He then expressed solidarity with Israel and that at his direction the Moorish Castle would be lit blue in their honour until Sunday after the horrific Hamas attack last week.
Picardo said that ‘the way ministers do things must change’, and promised to deliver more, even after 12 years of democratic reform.
As the first move of that change he said he would reveal ‘the accounts of all government companies showing their assets and liabilities’.
He said that the Financial Secretary of Gibraltar would publish the government company accounts on April 1, removing a major weapon in the Opposition’s arsenal over its accusations of lies and secrecy.
He then set up his stall for building more housing, making the health service ‘more responsive to the citizen’, and to ‘invest in our children’.
“The administration as a whole must change to respond better to the needs of the citizens,” the Chief Minister said.
We must continue to take our people and our country forward as they have chosen that we should today.”
Before he gave the manifesto the chief secretary to carry out the GSLP/Liberal policies in the civil service, he sent a message to the Spain’s PSOE leader.
“I want to finish with a message to Pedro Sanchez,” Picardo concluded. “Pedro it is time now that you too should form a government and that together we should finish the treaty that we started.”
He then left the stage to rapturous applause and cheers from the crowd at the John Mackintosh Hall theatre.
His elected government then made their way through the streets of Gibraltar for their post-electoral breakfast and their date with the governor.
READ MORE:
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