There was a two-and-a-half hour meeting between the
laughable (yet viciously contemptible) President of Spain, leader of the
corrupt and corrupting PP group in parliament and the leader of the opposition
and general secretary of the so-called socialist party PSOE. The President does not have an overall
majority in Parliament, but is able to govern because of the supine attitude of
PSOE who (incredibly) abstained during the last vote of confidence against the
government, and the active support of C’s the right wing sluts of Spanish
politics.
God knows there is more than enough for these two
‘leaders’ to talk about ranging from the rampant corruption that marks the way
that politics is lived in this country to the crucifyingly high youth
unemployment rate; the rising numbers of the poor and dispossessed to the
rising cost of living. And much, much
more. But the pressing problem at the
moment (leaving aside their own real failings and those of their parties) is
Catalonia.
On the first of October of this year the government of
Catalonia has said that it is going to hold a referendum asking the simple
question of the population of if they are in favour of forming and independent
republic of Catalonia. If the vote is
positive, the government has said that it will start the formal process of
withdrawing from Spain within days of the vote.
This is not the first vote that Catalonia has
had. There was a previous vote where the
overwhelming majority of those who voted, voted for independence. The qualifications in that last sentence are
important.
The PP government in Madrid said that such a vote was
illegal. The question was referred to
various courts including the Constitutional and High and all of them ruled that
the vote was both illegal and invalid.
The government did not allow government buildings to be used to
facilitate the vote; voter registration lists were denied to the organizers;
various threats were made about the participation of any civil servants; there
was a propaganda war against the government of Catalonia.
The vote was held and I voted. The result was dismissed by the same
government that had done all it could to make the holding of the vote
difficult. Considering the difficulties
and the opposition, the turnout was remarkable.
The government in Madrid prosecuted the president of
Catalonia for holding a democratic vote and he had to go to court. He was found guilty and was banned from
taking part in public political life for two years. The Spanish government was a laughing stock
for being seen as such an active opponent of democracy.
We have had the same sort of build up by the Spanish
government for the next vote. Legal
arguments have been made and various courts have pronounced on the essential
illegality of holding a democratic vote.
Our joke president of Spain has said that the only legal vote would be
one in which the whole country of Spain takes part. So, for example, the recent vote about
Scottish independence, according to the rules of the Spanish government, would
have been open to the voters of the entire United Kingdom England, Scotland,
Wales and Northern Ireland - and not restricted to Scotland! Absurd and ridiculous.
There has been some bellicose talk, with one minister
in the past referring to the use of tanks!
But surely, even at this late stage, politicians could try politics to
work out their problems?
I am constantly amazed by how little politicians in
this country actually use politics to try and diffuse situations. Their first loyalties are to party and not to
country, and their nauseating repetition of platitudes fails to hide the
paucity of ideas to take Spain forward.
Our television screens give us a daily diet of graphic
depictions of corruption largely unchecked by what passes for Justice
here. The politicisation (in the worst
sense of the word) of daily life of the rich and the powerful means that they
evade the consequences of their actions.
Ministers refuse to resign in spite of votes in parliament and reams of
evidence against them; proven criminals walk free from prisons; liars and
thieves pay eye-wateringly large sums of money IN CASH to get out of prison;
some convicted liars and thieves have yet to be put away. But, speak in the ‘wrong way’ about the Roman
Church, or the police, or the royal family, or make jokes in poor taste about
ETA and you will find that ‘justice’ in this country can be swift and
exemplary. We have laws that ensure that
if an individual films say, police brutality, then the person taking the film will
be prosecuted before the offenders!
This is a country where a government grant is given to
the Franco Foundation (sic.) but the same government is proud that it has not given a penny to fund the work of scientists
who are trying to discover the DNA and therefore the identity of those who were
murdered during the Civil War and thrown into common graves.
Recently, a 92-year-old woman was able to
bury the remains of her murdered father after an Argentinian organization funded the DNA work. In her moving responses on television she
expressed her gratitude that she was finally able to give her father the burial
respect that he deserved, but she pointedly said that she gave no thanks at all
to the Spanish PP government as they had done nothing at all to help.
Catalonia has banned bull fighting in the region and
refused it regional finance; the Spanish PP government has tried to get bull
fighting listed as of national historic importance and part of the patrimony of
mankind and, where it is in power, it has financed it. You go to the Plaza de España in Barcelona
and the historic bullring there has been converted into a shopping centre.
That just about sum up the attitude of many
Catalans to the central government.
In my view the Spanish government seems set for a
showdown with Catalonia, which is going to achieve nothing - except to harden
attitudes on both sides.
I would give Catalonia a referendum. Not immediately, but I would commit to
holding one in the near future. I would
then work with the Catalan government to restructure the relationship between
the Generalitat and Madrid. Having drawn
up a new map for the relationship between the two, then I would hold a
referendum using the new relationship to urge voters to go with a united Spain.
There are many foreigners in Catalonia. Not only those from other countries of the EU
and the rest of the world, but also those specifically including important sources of immigration
from Morocco, China and Russia. There are
many from the ex-colonies of Spain and Portugal in South America. To many those Spanish citizens from outside
Catalonia (and there are many in this region) are also foreign. I am sure that a renewed relationship, a more
equitable relationship could be sold easily to unconvinced Catalans and a
majority of ‘foreigners’ who are uneasy about the position of an independent
republic of Catalonia.
But the government of PP shows no sign of
reasonableness, shows no sign of being able to listen sympathetically to
justified complaints. As is not unusual
with sides entrenched in positions because of years of intransigence, it looks
as though, as usual, lack of political nous will ensure disaster.
And that brings me to Brexit.
But this post has been depressing enough without that!
Tomorrow I will be more cheerful. Honestly!
