The rock again

I was shocked yesterday to read the front page headline of a big Spanish national newspaper which declared:“Spain will not tolerate any more trouble over Gibraltar.” I thought that it was a major international story. I searched our very own Reuters news agency but found nothing. Sky News or BBC News 24 were not reporting the story either. Strange. Well it isn´t really. For the last two weeks the Spanish media have been giving banner headlines to a dispute over fishings rights in the waters around Gibraltar. There have been clashes between the Gibraltar police and Royal Navy and Spanish fishermen and the Guardia Civil. But truthfully it is rather a Spanish dispute. Now Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy held talks with Prime Minister David Cameron this week and the subject wasn´t even mentioned. Strange? If Spain is so concerned you would have thought that something would have been mentioned. But nothing. Is this a local incident not worthy of bigger headlines outside Spain? I would say yes. I would also rather accuse the Spanish government of making use of the Gibraltar affair to keep people´s attention away from the more pressing economic problems which continue to dog Spain. Now, is not the time for a new dispute over Gibraltar. I am sure that fishing rights do not rank very high in Spain´s problem list at the moment. This fishing dispute can easily be resolved. And Spain will not have to tolerate more trouble because there is no trouble.