*From speech by Opposition leader Keith Azopardi:
He added: Sunday is the 38th anniversary of the end of the Falklands War – a people who we feel a kinship with because of their own struggle for self-determination. As someone who served in the Falklands War you will appreciate that more than most.
Your Excellency will find in months to come that we have a small yet vibrant democracy where issues are robustly argued and tested. You will see that there are plenty of differences in style, policy and approach between the various political parties. But you will also find that as a people we have known when to come together to weather the storm or the siege over the years.
You join us at a particularly challenging time in Gibraltar’s history where a number of economic, social and political issues lie ahead. We expect change over the next three years.
TROUBLED WATERS
How we steer a course through troubled waters caused by sudden storms and how we ensure the continued sustainability of this small country of ours is what will mark us as a community.
So much is true for the two main challenges that we have encountered at the start of 2020.
The first was a bolt from the blue. The COVID pandemic has been an unprecedented challenge in modern times for the entire world. It has stolen lives worldwide, afflicted loss on many families, shaken the global economy and has put many people into a cycle of economic hardship.
The second challenge is an inevitable result of the undesirable departure of the UK from the European Union that we neither sought nor supported. Even so it is a political reality and one that must be grasped fully. Over the last couple of years we have had our differences with the Government on the Withdrawal Agreement, the MOUs negotiated with Spain or indeed the Tax Treaty.
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12-06-2020 PANORAMAdailyGIBRALTAR
