The Cauldron Let it go

When Fabian Picardo MP said he would serve a maximum of two terms if ever he was elected Chief Minister, the public breathed a collective sigh of relief. At the time Gibraltar was in the grip of Peter Caruana torpor and were fed up with the same old faces getting the same old favours and everyone shrugging their shoulders. It is unhealthy for a small nation (or any nation) to be run by the same individual for too long a period.

It’s not really democracy, is it? Fabian Picardo was in prime position to oust Caruana at the 2011 General Election and left no stone unturned, nothing to chance, he had to seize on something which would make people prick up their ears. The idea of an American-style system, limiting a CM to two four-year terms, was a game-changer, his timing impeccable.

At that time Fabian Picardo was a breath of fresh air and youthful exuberance and must be praised for the way he orchestrated his rise to power as it required patience, pragmatism and a lot of tap dancing. Originally an executive member of the Gibraltar National Party, which became the Liberal Party of Gibraltar, Picardo had to play second fiddle to others not least stalwart party leader Dr Joseph Garcia. However, (like Simba in the Lion King) he “just couldn’t wait to be king” so another path had to be trod, and the burgeoning GSLP/Liberal Alliance would be the answer.

Fabian didn’t need to topple his mate Joseph; he simply had to dwell in an ambiguous twilight zone of two political parties and bide his time wisely.

I will never forget the anti-fast launch demos of 1995 where huge crowds marched down Main Street in protest, the mouthpiece at the megaphone was fiery young schoolteacher Steven Linares (later to become a GSLP/Liberal Government Minister). People power reigned and the GSD brought down the GSLP in the 1996 election.

Joe Bossano didn’t take the defeat well and spent years trying to get back into No.6 Convent Place; he failed. ‘Palomo’ was the insult of the time as we were constantly warned that ‘Ca-ruina’ would sell Gibraltar down the river. Young political upstarts were wringing their hands trying to find ways of getting Bossano to retire; do you fight him, do you flatter him, do you leave and start a new party and defeat him at the ballot box? Meanwhile, Fabian Picardo was whistling in a corner.

He played the long game and won, and this is something he is very adept at, this is why he handles the Foreign Office diplomacy side of his job so well. To be fair, all Gibraltar Chief Ministers when faced with adversity on the international stage have risen to the challenge. It’s part of the psychology of being a colonial subject and showing those pesky Brits that the natives will stand their ground.

I trust Fabian Picardo to have done the very best for Gibraltar and its future as regards the Brexit/Gibexit negotiations. He too, like the rest of us, must live with the consequences and a ‘No Deal’ scenario would have been unthinkable. I’m impressed at the way Picardo sees a future where the Campo evolves as one economic area, how he is open and welcoming to the Mayor of La Linea and has dinner with Pedro Sánchez. Great! But then he goes and spoils it all by saying something stupid…

I keep thinking about the plot of Frozen where Prince Hans pretends to be loving and trustworthy but is revealed as manipulative and power-hungry. Sigh.

In 2024 people were glued to the McGrail Inquiry after months of jiggery-pokery and suspicious delays. In every bus journey, waiting room, street corner or supermarket queue; the whole town was talking about ‘The Inquiry’. There was huge entertainment value seeing high-ranking and handsomely paid figures of Gibraltar wriggle and squirm when questioned. The untouchables were man-handled in plain sight and had nowhere to hide.

That is what a modern society should be capable of when necessary; nobody is above the law. Fabian Picardo was loud and proud when he declared the inquiry would reveal “The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth". Game on!

On 23rd December 2025 the findings were (finally) made public. Sir Peter Openshaw found that Fabian Picardo had made several ‘grossly improper’ attempts to interfere in an active criminal investigation into his close friend and associate, James Levy, who at the time was a suspect (and later exonerated of any wrongdoing). Not only this, but he had also made ‘grossly improper disclosure of confidential material’ to Mr Levy.

The key word here is ‘attempt’. The findings were crystal clear: While there was no actual interference, the Chief Minister of Gibraltar, according to the Inquiry chairman, had tried several times to hobble a police investigation into matters relating to national security. Has Fabian Picardo resigned over this? No, he has not.

Gibraltar is a very young democracy which needs an overhaul. The 1969 constitution established full internal self-government, with Britain retaining control over defence and external affairs. The Gibraltar Constitution Order 2006 renamed the House of Assembly to the Gibraltar Parliament establishing a modern democratic system (really?) Our way of government is totally flawed and open to abuses of power as seen via the Principal Auditor’s Report saga and the reaction to the Openshaw Report. Pre-2011 the Liberal Party of Gibraltar issued press releases galore about electoral and parliamentary reform.

What happened to those voices? During the reign of the GSLP/Libs there has been no reform, yet we were sold a ‘New Dawn’, a new way of running Gibraltar, better than Caruana’s controlling, conservative GSD. Once they got into power the Alliance didn’t want to lose it and it’s a hard pill to swallow for those of us who believed in them. Gibraltar cannot trust Fabian Picardo to take on board the Openshaw proposals, and we cannot trust him to handle our accounts which is a very serious matter.

Ours is a peaceful society which, as history shows, gives it leaders ample leeway but we expect the respect to be returned. When Fabian Picardo was questioned by Ros Astengo in a recent interview it was hubris on steroids: “Do you think I’d fail in an attempt to do something if I set my mind to it?” he bragged. Whether you’re the head of the knitting circle or a world leader (think Boris Johnson) clinging onto power with gritted teeth is never a good look. Fabian, you’ve had your ‘best bits’ but please, for the love of sanity, resign.