Puigdemont speech gives no clarity on Catalan independence
CATALONIA - The long awaited speech in which Catalonia’s president declared independence only to immediately suspend it was so wrapped in conditionalities and ambiguity that it is likely to be interpreted in a thousand different ways. Some will say that Carles Puigdemont was trying to blackmail the Spanish state, others that he was holding out an olive branch. By claiming that the chaotic 1 October referendum meant voters had instructed him to start creating an independent state while also asking parliament to immediately “suspend the effects of the independence declaration” Puigdemont has embarked on a precarious piece of tightrope walking. He has upset not just those who oppose independence (a majority, according to opnion polls) but also some of those who are most determined to achieve it and wanted it declared immediately and unambiguously. Puigdemont also stepped back from the brink of immediate independence – thereby buying time. But however his words are interpreted, Tuesday’s speech in the Catalan parliament makes him the central figure in Spain’s biggest existential drama since Civil Guard colonel Antonio Tejero launched a failed coup in 1981. At stake are five centuries of coexistence with the rest of Spain and a growing social fracture inside Catalonia itself, as the surge in support for separatism threatens the historic unionist supremacy. The livelihoods of ordinary Catalans are also in play, with major companies and banks shifting registered headquarters away from the region. Puigdemont’s declaration has stretched the tension out over an indefinite period of time. He would like to start some kinds of talks within weeks but did not say when, if they ever take place, he wanted to finish them. By calling for European mediation and claiming validity for the referendum, Puigdemont has stepped across Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy’s red lines. The country’s conservative government is likely to accuse him of flagrant disregard for the constitution. The rest of the world, meanwhile, remains perplexed. The threat is of rebellion against the laws of an established democracy, Spain in a large region of the European Union, Catalonia. But it is also peaceful and would easily be resolved by a legal, Scottish-style referendum.
(Theguardian.com)