MADRID (Reuters) - Spain has accused the British government of a lack of "self-control" for participating in celebrations of the anniversary of Gibraltar's seizure, which it warns will not help their relations.
Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said on Tuesday spats between Britain and Spain's new Socialist government over Gibraltar demonstrated a "clear lack of sensitivity" by London.
Tensions flared last week when Britain announced Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon would visit the tiny territory on Spain's southern coast during military commemorations of its occupation by an Anglo-Dutch force in 1704.
Oh, did the big British vertebrates hurt your feelings?
A visit last month by Princess Anne, Queen Elizabeth's daughter, sparked outrage in the Spanish media and prompted Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's government to complain to the British ambassador.
Okay, I'll grant you that Princess Anne isn't the babe that Princess Diana was. But her equestrian skills could conceivably cause some Spaniards to question their manhoods.
And boy can she drive a tank!
Zapatero, elected in March, has described a visit by British nuclear submarine HMS Tireless last month as the incident which most displeased him during his first 100 days in office.
Oh! The poor baby!
Negotiations between Madrid and London on sharing sovereignty fell apart in 2002 after Gibraltar's inhabitants rejected any role for Spain in a non-binding referendum.
Spain has been keen to rekindle negotiations but Britain, which rules out handing over an important naval base in Gibraltar, has appeared cool.
Moratinos said Britain should not use the population of Gibraltar as a pretext to avoid discussions.
So a bunch of English speaking British subjects prefer to be governed by English speaking vertebrates.
What could possibly be the problem?
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