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Gibraltar shared sovereignty 'a non starter for any negotiations' says expert in Spanish history

Current clashes counterproductive for Spain and Gibraltar said Spanish Civil War expert and Madrid based journalist William Chislett

The idea that one day Spain would share sovereignty in Gibraltar is a non-starter, according to Spanish Civil War expert and Madrid based journalist William Chislett. In Gibraltar for the first international Literary Festival, Mr Chislett gave his opinion on the developing cross-border political strife and also commented on the current political climate surrounding Spain.

 This weekend Mr Chislett has said that Madrid and London are negotiating secretly to try and find a way to unblock the impasse, this is understood to be a reference to the ongoing plan for ad hoc talks that might include the European Commission.

In an interview with the Gibraltar Chronicle Chislett said he believed the current crisis was counterproductive for both Spain and Gibraltar and accused both sides of using “megaphone diplomacy”.

“Both the Spanish Prime Minister and your Chief Minister maybe tend to open their mouths before they think,” he said emphasizing that the responsibility is two-way. However he reflected on the Spanish political class’ dream of sharing sovereignty in Gibraltar, labeling the idea as a “non-starter”.

“It will never happen for many, many reasons,” said the former Times correspondent in Spain, highlighting that Gibraltar would need a referendum agreeing to joint-sovereignty as the determining factor. In the current climate, he said this weekend, joint sovereignty would be rejected 100%.

Mr Chislett admitted that what this current crisis has done is to convince Gibraltarians even more that they cannot trust the Spaniards.

Writing in el Imparcial this weekend Mr Chislett described the border controls as capricious and says that relations have not been as tense as they are now since the 1969 border closure.