It is abundantly clear that Spain is in a complete mess. The whole continent knows it, and the people of course know it - they are living in the mess and trying to cope. It is therefore a shame that the people in charge there decide upon a policy that means simply picking a fight, and stirring everything up while expecting that subjects will show patriotism to justify the leaders' actions. This tactic is one that tries to encourage the Spanish people to come together in joint outrage at the British. Unfortunately this is an insult to the ordinary people of Spain, and an insult to the intelligence of anyone bothering to consider the situation. The whole approach being adopted by the Spanish government (and Monarchy) is sadly not that surprising, because in stressful times, and when a national is on the back foot, it is quite common for leaders to try and 'rally' everyone and create a shared mission. The hope of course is that attention will be diverted from the domestic dire situation, and enormity of a national crisis, to an international spat where nationality is supposed to play a key part (which logic and common sense, let alone perspective) being pushed to the wings. There is absolutely no reason why Spanish and British people should not get on, but it seems the Spanish government is keen to prove otherwise.
So, the threats are floating everywhere, regarding fees of 50 Euros for crossing the border between Spain and Gibraltar. The queues and supposed 'checks' are purposefully fucking up the lives of many thousands of people, including a stupidly high number of Spaniards whose livelihoods depend completely on Gibraltar! This is apparently 'retaliation' for British actions, but it's not that at all. It is without doubt the most pathetic stance possible, and serves no one at all - in either country.
I love Spain and so it's a travesty that the twats in charge are trying to be divisive and incite confrontation. How did this all start? Well, this time round, it was supposedly triggered by the antagonistic and unacceptable actions of Gibraltar in building an 'artificial reef'. A few concrete blocks being dropped in the water (apparently a good idea, according to Greenpeace) has angered the Spanish Prime Minister (Mariano Rajoy) to an apoplectic level. He seems not to mention that Spain has itself installed 25 identical reefs along its southern coastline, nor does he mention that the funding for them was 75% from the EU. So, Gibraltar pays for one small artificial reef but this is outrageous, while the EU (with the UK donating a fair chunk) pays millions to help Spain do the very same thing! As a country that gains enormously from the EU and from the UK, I think Mr Rajoy is out of his depth on presenting any logical argument. His means of being a nuisance, then, are fucking up the border crossing, and ignoring the fact that the contents of thousands of Spanish lavatories are directed at those going for a swim in Gibraltar. Nice.
Aside from all of the above, though, there is the ludicrous hypocrisy to deal with. Spain has its own 'version of Gibraltar', in the form of Cueta, the territory that's about 15 miles away, over the water in Africa. That's right, on another continent! The similarities are striking. The inhabitants if Cueta [84,000 of them in 2012] are Spanish. Despite it being a tiny place on the tip of Morocco, it is a Spanish territory and will not be relinquished. Just for your reference, they have a similar outpost on the east Moroccan coast - Melilla - where another 80,000 Spanish citizens are camped.
So, I think it is fair to conclude that the hypocrisy is profound, and that the sabre rattling by the Spanish government is completely out of synch with the views of the ordinary Spanish folk who visit and/or work in Gibraltar. The views will most certainly be rather different from those citizens who live in Cueta and Melilla. Perhaps Mr Rajoy will confirm that he will sanction the return of both places to Morocco and that the 180,000 Spaniards will move back to Spain (?) and that could perhaps be a good step in encouraging the UK to give Gibraltar [where the population is 29,000] to Spain.
Please can we all stop pissing about and get back to normal.
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