quote:

Originally posted by DennisM:

quote:

Originally posted by tacfoley:
... the Spanish, last time they took on the British navy, back in 1588, let's just say THAT didn't go that well, either.

How DOES a Spanish Admiral review his Armada?

Through the glass floor of his boat.

quote:

Originally posted by corsair:
Gibralter can be a self-sufficient, during the time of Franco's reign, border crossings were closed. Gibralter relies on its banking and tourism sectors to support it's economy. Port and repair facilities for shipping are also well established, however a hard border closure would likely see a temporary downturn in that business until work agreements can be arranged.

AFAIK, Gibraltar actually has a positive economic impact on the Spanish hinterland, in that Gibraltese spend the money they make in their local success branches - ship fuelling, online gambling, financial services - on goods and houses there, and Spanish workers commute to Gibraltar. So you'd expect that Spaniards from the area would want the symbiosis to continue.

Then again Spain's new right-wing Vox party scored successes in recent regional, national and European elections on a platform including fierce demands for a return of Gibraltar, and particularly so in the region of Andalusia which borders the territory. In fact the Gibraltese government just took leaders of the party to a Spanish court for inciting hatred against them. So again, it seems mostly a matter of emotions.

Spain has regularly instituted checks at the border whenever the British side did something they disagreed with, creating traffic jams which effectively shut down the commute for both Gibraltese and Spaniards living on the mainland. That doesn't seem to have pissed off the Spanish locals though, or only insofar as they want the border to go away period. If they did that continuously, they could make living in Gibraltar a real annoyance, but I'm not sure about the actual economic impact on either side.

quote:

Originally posted by tacfoley:

quote:

Originally posted by DennisM:

quote:

Originally posted by tacfoley:
... the Spanish, last time they took on the British navy, back in 1588, let's just say THAT didn't go that well, either.

How DOES a Spanish Admiral review his Armada?

Through the glass floor of his boat.

Tac you are on a roll!!!
Thank you for your insight.