While it might be flattering to think that the 98.97% of Gibraltarians who voted to remain British in a 2002 poll were doing so for reasons of sentimental attachment, the colony's current status as a VAT-exempt enclave within the EU probably had more to do with it. And it's a legitimate question whether a tiny number of people ought to be able to exercise a permanent veto over two much larger democratic states. But really, the Spaniards are pretty wretched when it comes to wooing their reluctant neighbors. And isn't Madrid guilty of more than a touch of hypocrisy when it comes to ancient colonial vestiges?
Posted by Alan Allport at August 4, 2004 06:45 AM