The existence of the British territory of Gibraltar, ceded by Spain to Britain "in perpetuity" as part of the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, has long been a source of frustration to Spanish nationalistic pride. The country's 20th century dictator Francisco Franco exploited this sentiment, using the issue as one of the key lines of both his interior and foreign policies. With obvious failure, as can be seen in the fact that the Union Jack still flies over the Rock.
However, Spanish persistence in calling for the return of the territory has remained constant - in contrast with the complete silence regarding the reintegration of Northern Catalonia - and has now been revived in the Spanish patriotic agenda, with the attempt to take advantage of Brexit to establish a co-sovereignty status that neither Britain nor the people of Gibraltar are asking for.
The cry of Gibraltar español - "Gibraltar, Spanish" always gets certain groups excited, and that is why, on the occasion of the Andalusian election campaign, the president of the Partido Popular (PP), Pablo Casado, has entered the patriotic fray: after rewriting the Spanish colonial past on Saturday with his claim that "We Spaniards didn't colonise, we just made a greater Spain", the PP leader completed his weekend by reasserting the Spanish claim to the British coastal enclave.
In a campaign event in Algeciras this Sunday, Casado said he supported "co-sovereignty" and regretted that Spanish workers in Gibraltar did not have "the same salary, the same rights or the same pensions" as other Spaniards. For that reason, he continued, his party is the only one which defends "a Spanish Gibraltar", and he accused Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez of having "betrayed" Spain by not having been strong enough in claiming a dual sovereignty status for the Rock.