DESPRÉS DEL 9N
Wednesday 12 November 2014 -The Independent
Catalans who want independence are being thwarted by a flawed Spanish constitution
Political decision-making in Madrid – or a lack of it – has created a mess
These are tough times for Spanish politicians. The established
parties in Madrid are mired in a corruption scandal for which Prime
Minister Mariano Rajoy has already been forced to apologise. And now
they face a serious challenge ahead of next year’s general election from
Podemos, a left-wing grassroots political start-up that was formed only
in January, and that already threatens to dismantle many of the
country’s political conventions.
Perhaps the biggest headache, however, is Catalonia. After Sunday’s unofficial poll in which more than
1.8m people voted to back independence
for the wealthy region in the north east of the country, it is clear
that Madrid and Barcelona are on an irretrievable collision course. Its
loss seriously threatens the future of Spain.
Of all the Spanish
regions, Catalonia carries the largest economic clout, contributing
almost 20 per cent of Spain’s overall GDP; it boasts a host of
multinational companies; its population is young and entrepreneurial and
its rate of unemployment is considerably lower than the rest of the
country. On the cultural side, it has its own language and customs, and
it is fiercely resistant to changes imposed by Madrid. Emotions are
still raw after a 2010 constitution court decision to limit an already
agreed transfer of powers.
None of this automatically qualifies the region for
independence, of course, and critics point to the surge in support for
autonomy, especially financial autonomy, since the onset of the credit
crisis that swept through much of Europe at the end of the last decade.
Spain, with its over-reliance on debt-fuelled building projects, was
particularly hard hit. The professional classes in Barcelona and Girona
were non-too excited about sharing the burden from their higher incomes.
But
now the merits or otherwise of Catalan independence hardly matter. The
government in Madrid, by refusing to engage with the Catalans and
invoking the high legal principle that even an expression of opinion
runs counter to the Spanish constitution, has created a problem from
which it cannot easily extract itself.
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