Humpty Dumpty
There is an immense political hullabaloo going on this month in Spain. The central government, run by the conservatives, is butting heads with the Govern, the regional government of Catalunya. The knocks are becoming more serious as the month progresses and October 1st nears. I fear that one of those knocks might leave one, the other, or both unconscious.
For some time, the parties that promote Catalan independence have been gaining ascendancy in the autonomous region. Catalunya has always felt itself to be separate, and merely allied to the central government of Spain. It was independent once upon a time, though some may dispute that. From the tenth century until the twelfth, the counties that made up the Spanish March once established by Charlemagne owed allegiance to no king. The counties were loosely allied under the Count of Barcelona, who was the feudal lord until his marriage with the daughter of the King of Aragon in 1137. From then on, the feudal lord was the King of Aragon, but the counties remained free to decide things for themselves. The two institutions, the counties and the kingdom, remained separate entities, though the descendants of the Count became Kings of Aragon as well as Counts of Barcelona.
At the end of the Thirty Years War, Catalunya for a time changed allegiance to the French king, because they saw as harsh the impositions the Spanish king was laying on them in the war against the French. The president of the Catalan parliament met with the French envoy, Du Plessis Besancon in 1641, and arranged for Catalunya to become a republic under the sovereignty of the French king. A deal was struck, and Catalunya became a republic. But the next year Louis XIII died, and the deal fell through. Catalunya returned to Spain. In 1716, the new Bourbon king, Phillip V, abolished all the Catalan institutions which had been in force since the Middle Ages, and centralized all power in Madrid.
After that, Catalunya, and all the other regions, had no power whatsoever. Absolute power was in the central government with the King in Madrid, and local power was given to the individual provinces, with no difference between, say, Huelva in Andalucía and Girona in Catalunya. To avoid regional differences, the provinces were given the name of the capital, as well. You named the capital city, you named the province. Things continued like that until the Second Republic in 1933. Just before the Civil War started in 1936, referendums had been held in three historical regions, Catalunya, Galicia, and Euskadi. In each of them, the majority vote was in favor of forming an autonomous region. But it all had to be put on hold until Franco died and the Constitution approved in 1978.
However, the powers given to the autonomies forty years ago haven't been seen as enough. At the beginning of this new century, Catalan leaders pushed for a reform of the Estatut, the name given to the agreement that distributed autonomous powers. They have wanted more powers transferred from Madrid to Catalunya. A reform was pushed through around ten years ago, but extremely watered down by the conservative government that followed the Socialists. And even though it was watered down, large parts of it were deemed unconstitutional by the Constitutional Tribunal. The final result was not worth the trouble. So, the more radical leaders decided to try for independence from Madrid, and by extension, Spain.
A consultation was held in 2014. Only just over thirty percent of the population voted, but the vote was overwhelmingly in favor of holding a referendum on independence. Which is what the Govern of the Generalitat of Catalunya is planning to have on October 1st, but which the central government has declared illegal and is trying to stop at all cost. It has gone so far as calling every mayor that will allow urns to be set up, to answer questions from the police, to determine if they have committed a crime. Charges have been levelled at the President of Catalunya and several elected officials that, if ever brought to trial and declared guilty, mean they face jail. The Minister of the Interior has ordered the Policía Nacional to seize all urns on October 1st. Any publicity of the referendum anywhere is forbidden, internet included. A website that explained the referendum, and allowed voters to print out the ballot was closed yesterday, only to be reopened almost immediately. The ballot has to be printed out at home, because all printing companies in Catalunya have been ordered not to print them, under penalty of large fines and closure.
I am not in favor of independence. I would prefer a federal state, much like they have in Germany, rather than the centralization that has caused so many headaches in this country, but that seems to be our fate. But the heavy-handed manner that the conservative government is taking reminds me of the dictatorship it seemed we had left behind. What is wrong with a referendum? I see no problem with having a non-binding referendum where the general population can decide what they want for themselves. The result of that vote should then be brought to the bargaining table to decide on what would be best for everyone.
What the conservatives in power are doing is creating more resentment and more believers in independence than there were before. Scotland had a referendum. Probably because Parliament allowed it, the result came back NO. I remember Quebec had referendums on independence, and they came back NO. Why the fuss? Because Catalunya is the industrial and financial motor of Spain? Even so, if Catalunya were ever to gain independence, it would lose a lot because it would automatically be outside the European Union, and have to apply for entry as a new country. That means many years without money from Madrid and money from Brussels. Many companies would also leave Catalunya for the economic security of what would be left of Spain. Spain loses immediately, but eventually regains. Catalunya loses eventually, and might some day regain.
It's the rolling pin attack of the central government that is disproportionate. What if the referendum takes place and independence is declared? Will the conservatives in Madrid dissolve the authority of the Generalitat as is written in the Constitution? What then? Tanks in the streets because the Generalitat will not dissolve? Talking can get you everywhere. A fist in the eye will get you in trouble. Try explaining that to the stubborn conservatives in Madrid.
For some time, the parties that promote Catalan independence have been gaining ascendancy in the autonomous region. Catalunya has always felt itself to be separate, and merely allied to the central government of Spain. It was independent once upon a time, though some may dispute that. From the tenth century until the twelfth, the counties that made up the Spanish March once established by Charlemagne owed allegiance to no king. The counties were loosely allied under the Count of Barcelona, who was the feudal lord until his marriage with the daughter of the King of Aragon in 1137. From then on, the feudal lord was the King of Aragon, but the counties remained free to decide things for themselves. The two institutions, the counties and the kingdom, remained separate entities, though the descendants of the Count became Kings of Aragon as well as Counts of Barcelona.
At the end of the Thirty Years War, Catalunya for a time changed allegiance to the French king, because they saw as harsh the impositions the Spanish king was laying on them in the war against the French. The president of the Catalan parliament met with the French envoy, Du Plessis Besancon in 1641, and arranged for Catalunya to become a republic under the sovereignty of the French king. A deal was struck, and Catalunya became a republic. But the next year Louis XIII died, and the deal fell through. Catalunya returned to Spain. In 1716, the new Bourbon king, Phillip V, abolished all the Catalan institutions which had been in force since the Middle Ages, and centralized all power in Madrid.
After that, Catalunya, and all the other regions, had no power whatsoever. Absolute power was in the central government with the King in Madrid, and local power was given to the individual provinces, with no difference between, say, Huelva in Andalucía and Girona in Catalunya. To avoid regional differences, the provinces were given the name of the capital, as well. You named the capital city, you named the province. Things continued like that until the Second Republic in 1933. Just before the Civil War started in 1936, referendums had been held in three historical regions, Catalunya, Galicia, and Euskadi. In each of them, the majority vote was in favor of forming an autonomous region. But it all had to be put on hold until Franco died and the Constitution approved in 1978.
However, the powers given to the autonomies forty years ago haven't been seen as enough. At the beginning of this new century, Catalan leaders pushed for a reform of the Estatut, the name given to the agreement that distributed autonomous powers. They have wanted more powers transferred from Madrid to Catalunya. A reform was pushed through around ten years ago, but extremely watered down by the conservative government that followed the Socialists. And even though it was watered down, large parts of it were deemed unconstitutional by the Constitutional Tribunal. The final result was not worth the trouble. So, the more radical leaders decided to try for independence from Madrid, and by extension, Spain.
A consultation was held in 2014. Only just over thirty percent of the population voted, but the vote was overwhelmingly in favor of holding a referendum on independence. Which is what the Govern of the Generalitat of Catalunya is planning to have on October 1st, but which the central government has declared illegal and is trying to stop at all cost. It has gone so far as calling every mayor that will allow urns to be set up, to answer questions from the police, to determine if they have committed a crime. Charges have been levelled at the President of Catalunya and several elected officials that, if ever brought to trial and declared guilty, mean they face jail. The Minister of the Interior has ordered the Policía Nacional to seize all urns on October 1st. Any publicity of the referendum anywhere is forbidden, internet included. A website that explained the referendum, and allowed voters to print out the ballot was closed yesterday, only to be reopened almost immediately. The ballot has to be printed out at home, because all printing companies in Catalunya have been ordered not to print them, under penalty of large fines and closure.
I am not in favor of independence. I would prefer a federal state, much like they have in Germany, rather than the centralization that has caused so many headaches in this country, but that seems to be our fate. But the heavy-handed manner that the conservative government is taking reminds me of the dictatorship it seemed we had left behind. What is wrong with a referendum? I see no problem with having a non-binding referendum where the general population can decide what they want for themselves. The result of that vote should then be brought to the bargaining table to decide on what would be best for everyone.
What the conservatives in power are doing is creating more resentment and more believers in independence than there were before. Scotland had a referendum. Probably because Parliament allowed it, the result came back NO. I remember Quebec had referendums on independence, and they came back NO. Why the fuss? Because Catalunya is the industrial and financial motor of Spain? Even so, if Catalunya were ever to gain independence, it would lose a lot because it would automatically be outside the European Union, and have to apply for entry as a new country. That means many years without money from Madrid and money from Brussels. Many companies would also leave Catalunya for the economic security of what would be left of Spain. Spain loses immediately, but eventually regains. Catalunya loses eventually, and might some day regain.
It's the rolling pin attack of the central government that is disproportionate. What if the referendum takes place and independence is declared? Will the conservatives in Madrid dissolve the authority of the Generalitat as is written in the Constitution? What then? Tanks in the streets because the Generalitat will not dissolve? Talking can get you everywhere. A fist in the eye will get you in trouble. Try explaining that to the stubborn conservatives in Madrid.
Living on the French side of Catalonia, I fear the feelings could lead to a civil war. The French are up in arms about being sucked into Occitania. I don't trust any government to do the smart thing to cool this down. I don't dare call my French-Catalan neighbors French. They are Catalan.
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