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Constitution proposals will not be accepted in full, Straw tells Caruana
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by JOE GARCIA
The foreign secretary Jack Straw has made it clear that the UK cannot accept the constitution proposals in full. That, put succintly, is the net result of the meeting held in London.
It is also why chief minister Peter Caruana is already lowering his sights, and is now talking about hoping to secure the 'majority' of the proposals.
In a GBC interview, he spoke of a 'less' colonial relationship with Britain, but quickly corrected himself by saying 'non' colonial.
This is indicative of the way things are going. The proposals seek a non-colonial relationship between Britain and Gibraltar. It could be that what Gibraltar may get is a 'less colonial' relationship, but questions will be asked if this is capable of being accepted as decolonisation.
Mr Caruana had already written to Mr Straw about the handful of 'red line' issues that emerged at the last round of constitutional talks held in Gibraltar last year.
It must be that he did not get the response he was looking for, which made him ask for a meeting with Mr Straw in an effort to put his arguments forward in a 'last straw' situation in the hope the foreign secretary could be convinced.
CRUNCH POINT
A crunch point centres on the role of the Governor. The proposals seek to demote the position of Governor, by calling him a Lieut-Governor and emasculating his powers.
The UK is said to be having none of this. Other questions concern decolonisation and how this is arrived at.
The dilemma is that, even if the position of the Governor were to remain essentially intact, what fornmula could emerge that would provide Gibraltar with a status that would be accepted as a decolonised status?
At the London meeting, Mr straw did not agree with the arguments put forward. Instead, he said he would consider them and come back with a response, which is the usual way out.
Hopefully he might agree on some of the points, but there is no hope of the UK agreeing to the constitution proposals in full, judging by current thinking.
The UK likes to restate the view that Britain cannot assume responsibilities without power. In an EU context, for instance, if Gibraltar does not comply with EU directives it is Britain that is taken to court. This is the kind of thinking that illustrates and permeates the overall UK position on constitutional change.
There are other issues which are also thought to be sensitive, such as control of the police.
CHECKING THE BALANCES
When upcoming politicians refer to situations which have required UK intervention to help resolve, they tend to forget that the police is the responsibility of the Governor. If certain issues, such as that of the launches, went beyond what is normal, then it was the Governor and the police who should take the blame.
Checks and balances may be necessary for the benefit of the community as such but not for the benefit of colonial officials and for colonial machinations.
What Britain cannot be seen to do is to impose on Gibraltar what she does not impose on herself. It could be that the governmental arrangements in Gibraltar do not allow for a greater input from other bodies as there are layers of checks and balances that may be lacking.
If that is the case, the UK government can always make suggestions. But there cannot be arguments about the lack of check and balances if none are suggested by the administering power. Worse still, if this is used to try and reject a modern constitutional status as espoused by the proposals currently being discussed, and in its place, propose the continuation of colonial practices.
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