MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Spanish mayor calls for “extraordinary relations” with the Gibraltar government

Alejandro Sánchez not afraid of dialogue with the Rock

Spain’s La Linea (*) new Mayor Alejandro Sanchez wants to have “extraordinary relations with the Gibraltar Government, the opposition and the rest of the Rock’s political class,” he said to the Gibraltar Chronicle, minutes after his election.

“I will do everything in my hand, whatever gesture is required, so that they understand my desire for good neighbourly relations on a reciprocal basis” he said in reply to questions. Sanchez highlighted that “it is time for politics and cross-border dialogue with Gibraltar, we should not be afraid of dialogue.”

The new mayor said it was incomprehensible that from an institutional point of view, Gibraltar and La Linea had been back to back rather than face to face, and said “cooperation between all of us” was the way forward.

He also reiterated his concern for the rights of Spanish workers in Gibraltar but said that by working together it would be possible to find acceptable formulae. “The best way to ensure good relations, --and that the relationship is stable--, is by ensuring the security and stability of these workers.”

Sanchez is no stranger to Gibraltar. He has family connections on the Rock and numerous social ties spanning the past two decades. He said both the Ayuntamiento and the Gibraltar Government had “a moral and an ethical obligation to work together.”

Asked whether he would be calling for a meeting with Chief Minister Peter Caruana, Sanchez said that in the next few days, together with his municipal team would be looking for the adequate format to be able to do so.

In answer to further questions, he recalled his own personal involvement in the removal of offensive graffiti against Mr Caruana that appeared in the vicinity of the frontier in La Linea.

The new Mayor said he was fully aware of how much Gibraltarians enjoyed visiting La Linea socially and for family reasons. “We will still be here as always for the Gibraltarians with open arms”. (Gibraltar Chronicle).-

(*) La Línea de la Concepción (more often referred to as La Línea) is a town in Spain, in the province of Cádiz in Andalucía. It lies on the eastern isthmus of the Bay of Gibraltar on the border with the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar, with which it has close economic and social links. It is situated on the sandy isthmus which unites the Rock of Gibraltar with the coast in the eastern flank of the Bay of Gibraltar, between Sierra Carbonera and the Rock of Gibraltar.