CHANGES TO MANAGEMENT BOARD & INTERIM LEADER
Last night, our executive team passed a resolution making some changes to our management board.
Summary of changes:
- Creation of ‘Interim Leader’ post to sit within the Management Board and take on the roles and responsibilities of the party leader until a full leadership election can be held.
- Appointment of Interim Leader: Nicholas Calamaro
- Appointment of Chairperson: Marlene Hassan Nahon
- Appointment of Treasurer: Neil Samtani
- Appointment of Secretary: Eddie Wood
An address was then given by interim leader Nick Calamaro and the text follows below:
Marlene’s decision to not stand at the next election was a difficult blow for us all. TG was never about personality politics, but Marlene’s enormous charisma and touching humanity permeated almost all of the party’s output. Her involvement at the forefront will be sorely missed by all members of Together Gibraltar, as well as by many others across the political divide.
Leaders like Marlene, marked by their sincerity, compassion, and crystal-clear conviction, are desperately needed now more than ever.
Over the past few months, the executive have been discussing what Together Gibraltar’s role in politics should be following Marlene’s decision. Is TG still relevant despite the departure of its leader? Is Gibraltar in need of a progressive party, defined by clear values? Does our society crave an alternative to the current political establishment? Our answer, unequivocally, was a resounding YES.
It’s now more clear than ever that Gibraltar still needs a home for progressive voices. For people like us who know what we stand for, who want to see Gibraltar thrive, and to make sure our community supports the most vulnerable. We desperately need something different from the same old rich lawyers and their friends, eager to sell off our future as if Gibraltar was a business, and not the place we call home.
We’ve seen what happens with politicians who claim to represent everyone, they end up representing no one but themselves. That cynicism, that abandonment of principles, has created an apathy in Gibraltar.
But we can’t afford to be apathetic. Gibraltar needs action and Gibraltar needs honesty. We are a diverse community with a growing divide between the haves and the have nots. Our government is sacrificing our quality of life to benefit a few special interests over the good of our community.
We have young Gibraltarians being pushed out of their hometown, older Gibraltarians struggling to make ends meet and whole sections of the community being left behind.
Gibraltar still needs a party which knows what, and who it represents. It is time we stop pretending that we can represent everyone and that we start taking sides. So count us in with the working class Gibraltarians struggling to make ends meet, with the LGBTQ+ community who deserve acceptance not tolerance and codified rights, regardless of who is in No. 6 at the time, with feminists fighting for fair treatment and respect in parliament and beyond, with climate activists looking to safeguard our future and our natural environment, with the disabled community who have been left behind by broken promises, and with the silenced public servants trying to make their community a better place.
We need to make sure that these members of our community have a platform where they can get involved and which they trust to represent them, in parliament AND beyond.
That’s renewed mission for Together Gibraltar is clear: we need to be a party that stays true to our progressive values:
Equality: to make sure NO ONE in our community is left behind.
Democracy: Because working class Gibraltarians deserve a say in what happens in Gibraltar.
Sustainability: Because life is about more than profit, and Gibraltar needs to be a place that prioritises our people and our environment.
If you’re still with us for this mission then we need your support now more than ever. We all have skills and it’s time Gibraltar started recognising that.