The main problem from today onwards is not that Catalonia obtains independence, because there is zero possibility of that happening. It’s rather the weakening of Spain and Europe. Prime Minister Rajoy has the law on his side, but he is politically weak. He needs to look for back up outside, from Europe. But effective support, not notional.
What’s happening in Catalonia? The narrative put together by those in favour of independence is quite incredible: how is that so many Catalans feel so badly treated in a democracy like Spain’s? The crisis in Catalonia threatens the stability of Spain and even the European project.
The Corner | The fiscal situation is one of the arguments the pro-independents in Catalonia have been using. And in this regard, we wanted to share with our readers a snippet from a televised debate between Josep Borrell, a former president of the European Parliament, who describes himself as “Catalan, Spanish and European,” and Oriol Junqueras, leader of the pro-independence Catalan Republican Left (ERC) party.
Spanish bond prices are not reflecting the risk of Catalan secession simply because the foreign economic press doesn’t rate the likelihood of it happening, nor the conflict which will follow 1-O.
Angela Merkel’s victory in Sunday’s general election in Germany was insufficient and fairly negative for the rest of Europe. For one thing, the Macron Plan, to create fiscal unity, has automatically been pushed back for at least four years.
French coverage of the Catalan independence referendum has something of the left-right split we saw in Germany, but most of the media are united in calling on Catalan and Spanish leaders to meet each other in the middle.
The predicted train crash between the Catalan and the Spanish governments has now happened. But what’s next? It’s difficult for the referendum to be a success, but the the fact there is no independence in the short-term, doesn’t mean that the train crash is not going to have consequences in the medium-term.
After a brief look through the main international newspapers and publications, if there is one thing that’s clear it’s that the dominant view is there will be no referendum in Catalonia. And if it does take place, it will have zero effect. In other words, it won’t bring the region independence.
Nick Ottens via Atlantic Sentinel | Accusing Catalan nationalists of attempting to profit from a terrorist attack is not going to change minds. A little empathy, by contrast, and maybe a little bit of compromise, would go a long way.
Are Scotland and Catalonia willing to do what it takes to achieve independence? In 2007, the Scottish National Party launched a proposal of holding a referendum over Scotland’s independence. In 2009, some activists detached from mainstream Catalan parties launched the same proposal in Catalonia and actually held unofficial referenda that drove more than a million people to the polls voting overwhelmingly for independence.