Gibraltar could have first woman Chief Minister as Picardo sets out departure plan

Fabian Picardo will stand down as leader of the GSLP and Chief Minister in autumn this year and Gemma Arias-Vasquez could become Gibraltar’s first woman Chief Minister if she wins the party’s internal leadership election ahead of the next general election.

This was announced at a press conference on Thursday afternoon at the GSLP headquarters where Mr Picardo, Mrs Arias-Vasquez, Nigel Feetham who will become Vice Deputy Chief Minister, and party chairman Pepe Baldachino.

Mr Picardo said the GSLP will hold its AGM on November or December this year as has been customary and that he will not put himself forward as leader.

When this happens, a new party leader will be elected and in turn Mr Picardo will tender his resignation as Chief Minister to the Governor and suggest that he should contact the person who has been elected as leader of the party, effectively to succeed him in the post.

It will then be the decision of the new leader to set out portfolios within Government.

Mr Picardo does not need to stay in Government when he resigns as Chief Minister and could remain solely within Parliament as a backbencher.

The GSLP has never had a contested leadership election in its history.

It is expected that Mrs Arias-Vasquez will stand for leadership uncontested, although under party rules any member could stand for leadership even if they are not a Member of Parliament.

“If Gemma persuades the members of the GSLP, with Nigel's support, that she should become the next leader of the party, she is Gibraltar's next Chief Minister and she's Gibraltar's first woman Chief Minister,” Mr Picardo said.

The party outlined the plan for its future, with a general election due to take place by February 2028 at the latest.

Mr Picardo said he would advise the next leader to call the election in 2027 and not take it to the end, but ultimately this is the decision of the next leader.

The announcements come after Mrs Arias-Vasquez and Mr Feetham confirmed they will not be going head-to-head in a leadership contest after Mr Feetham decided to withdraw his own bid.

“I'm really happy to see that what I might call the two leading lights for the contention to lead the party into the future have announced that they have come to terms, that one of them will take a step to seek the leadership of the party, and that the other will support it,” Mr Picardo said.

Mr Picardo added he will be asking the party to support the “joint ticket” of Mrs Arias-Vasquez and Mr Feetham, which will give the party stability.

“Two people who I hugely value, who I think are extraordinarily politically talented, as extraordinarily politically talented as the other members of the GSLP/Liberal cabinet that I lead, are now telling us that they're ready to take steps forward,” he said.

“I told you before that I am not going to stand for the leadership of the party when the vacancy next comes up.”

Mr Picardo was emotional describing how Mrs Arias-Vasquez could become the first woman to lead the GSLP, adding that in his view she will make an excellent leader.

“What I didn't know was that it was going to be quite so difficult to convince her to take a step forward,” he said.

“It's with gratitude to Nigel that he has been able to push her to take that step that I wasn't able to push her to take.”

“And the last thing I would say today is that this may be a small step for Gemma, but it's going to be a huge step for women in Gibraltar.”

Mrs Arias-Vasquez said that women are often hesitant to put themselves forward.

After years of encouraging young women to throw their hats into the ring, she has decided to practise what she preaches.

“I'm very grateful to Nigel for his support,” she said.

She added: “We don’t want to go head-to-head. We don't want to have a public display such as we've witnessed previously. We sat down and we've spoken.”

She described how she will be the first woman standing for leadership within the GSLP and could be the first woman Chief Minister, calling this a big step for herself personally and for women in Gibraltar.

“With that exciting background, with that exciting backdrop, comes the fact that a lot of work is needed to take Gibraltar to the next step and to take the Gibraltarian businesses to the next step,” she said.

“A lot of energy and participation is needed. And we do believe that we are the team that has that energy and has that vision.

Mrs Arias-Vasquez has been in Government for the past two and a half years and as Health and Care Minister currently controls half the Government spend.

“When you start looking at portfolios and you start understanding how they work, you start seeing how everything fits together and you start getting a picture of Gibraltar and how Gibraltar works,” she said.

“Portfolios which can sometimes look quite disparate and in no way intertwine actually have a theme running through them which draws a lot of them up.”

She pointed to her portfolios in health and care and how this responsibility has shaped the way she looks at Gibraltar, adding that the work of Government has a real impact on people’s lives.

“There are few jobs in life which give you the opportunity to make an actual difference and this is one of those jobs where you can actually have an impact and make a difference in people's lives,” Mrs Arias-Vasquez said.

“You might only be able to improve some lives, but if you take a portfolio and you see that there are 50 children that are particularly impacted in a certain way and you can help 10 of those children and change their lives, you've actually saved 10 children and there are very few instances where you can reach in and make that much of a difference.”

She said this has made her see the human side of decisions.

“I think that's a very important theme coming into the next year, where decisions that you make have to have that humanity and that impact into people's lives and make a difference in people's lives on a daily basis,” she said.

Mr Feetham said it is now important for the party to deliver for the people of Gibraltar both at the next general election and in the next 18 months.

He said he and Mrs Arias-Vasquez have been working very closely together and he has seen “the human side of her”.

“I have no doubt whatsoever about Gemma’s leadership qualities and the hard work that she has put into that ministerial office over the last two and a half years,” he said.

“Equally, Gemma has seen the work that I have done in my ministerial office as well and it was a natural progression of those conversations.”

Mr Feetham said his decision to back Mrs Arias-Vasquez was important for the unity of the party.

When it was put to him that he had openly championed his own leadership intentions over the past couple years, Mr Feetham said he had considered what was in the best interest of the party.

“It cannot be in the best interest of the party that we have a contested leadership election,” he said.

Mr Feetham said he very “emphatically endorses” Mrs Arias-Vasquez for leadership.