Gibraltar agitator replaced as Foreign Minister in Spanish cabinet reshuffle

The issue of Gibraltar’s sovereignty has been a flashpoint between the UK and Spain.

A spiky thorn in Gibraltar’s side has been quietly cycled out of his role as Spain’s Foreign Minister as part of Mariano Rajoy’s cabinet reshuffle…

The new government seeks to make its mark on Spanish politics immediately, and the replacement of José Manuel García-Margallo with a career diplomat is being seen in some quarters as a reassurance by Rajoy that there will be no further antagonism from Spain over The Rock.

For many years, García-Margallo had been vocal in his belief that Gibraltar should be ceded from the UK to Spain, and never missed an opportunity to seek to loosen ties between Britain and Spain.

However, with Rajoy’s new cabinet now severely weakened in Parliament and holding only a minority conservative grip on power, the Prime Minister is evidently seeking to limit any possible flashpoints with his more left-leaning opponents.

García-Margallo’s replacement as Foreign Minister is Alfonso Dastis, who has long represented Spain at the European Parliament in Brussels and is widely considered to be a reasoned, sensible campaigner.

Elsewhere, the markets were cheered to learn that Luis de Guindos was retained as Economic Minister given the 56-year-old’s steady guidance of the Spanish economy during some of the toughest years it has faced since Franco.

De Guindos oversaw mass labour reform during Spain’s double-dip recession, and has been instrumental in ensuring that the country’s economy has recovered much faster than many experts had predicted.

“We have opted for continuity on the economic team,” said a Popular Party (PP) parliamentary spokesman. “A team that was crucial in reversing the economic situation that Spain was going through five years ago.”

Also retained is Labour Minister Fátima Báñez, who worked closely with de Guindos during Spain’s employment reform.

Rajoy’s new cabinet welcomes six new ministers into the fold, with the interior and defence roles joining the foreign role in ushering in a new face. New Interior Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido is the former mayor of Seville and replaces Jorge Fernández Diaz, while the new Defence Minister is María Dolores de Cospedal, who most recently worked as the PP’s secretary General.