Sunday’s referendum vote merely deepened the rift within Catalonia and Spanish society as a whole.
The confrontations — some of them violent, between citizens and police officers who were brought in from outside the region (a move necessitated by what the central government’s chief representative Catalonia called the passivity shown by the Catalan regional Mossos d’Esquadra force) — were greeted with horror by Spaniards, for whom they evoked long-buried nightmares of the Franco regime. Catalan President Carles Puigdemont and his government bear most of the responsibility for this.
The heads of the European Union vehemently oppose letting a “Catalan State” join the union. Such a move not only contradicts the essence and purpose of the EU; it would also open the door to a flood of demands for independence across the continent.
Catalonia’s leaders were not deterred by the rulings of Spain’s Supreme Court, were not eager to obey the law and were not suitably impressed by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s determination to prevent Catalonia’s exit at “almost” any price. Rajoy simply can’t do otherwise, because on the sidelines of this battle, others watch and wait: the Basques, some Galicians and who knows what other part of the country might yet demand independence and separation.
Read more: Why an independent Catalonia would be a huge mistake - Europe - Haaretz.com
The confrontations — some of them violent, between citizens and police officers who were brought in from outside the region (a move necessitated by what the central government’s chief representative Catalonia called the passivity shown by the Catalan regional Mossos d’Esquadra force) — were greeted with horror by Spaniards, for whom they evoked long-buried nightmares of the Franco regime. Catalan President Carles Puigdemont and his government bear most of the responsibility for this.
The heads of the European Union vehemently oppose letting a “Catalan State” join the union. Such a move not only contradicts the essence and purpose of the EU; it would also open the door to a flood of demands for independence across the continent.
Catalonia’s leaders were not deterred by the rulings of Spain’s Supreme Court, were not eager to obey the law and were not suitably impressed by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s determination to prevent Catalonia’s exit at “almost” any price. Rajoy simply can’t do otherwise, because on the sidelines of this battle, others watch and wait: the Basques, some Galicians and who knows what other part of the country might yet demand independence and separation.
Read more: Why an independent Catalonia would be a huge mistake - Europe - Haaretz.com
