Petty nationalism

SCOTTISH Nationalist support for Catalan independence is ironic, for when, as is very l i kely, Catalonia and Spain cross the edge of the abyss they stand on it will prove a deterring lesson in the dangers of petty nationalism.

The ghosts of the Spanish Civil War, in which Catalonia chose the republican side, are not far away. With Spain having replaced Catalan police chiefs, it would not take much for violence to break out, and in the euphoric state of Catalan nationalism to spread beyond easy control.

The population of Catalonia is divided with only half of them supporting independence. This augurs ill for the region’s future success.

We are beginning to see the economic consequences of the disputed referendum, with banks and other corporations moving their legal domiciles out of Catalonia.

With the EU focused on Catalonia, a hard and speedy Brexit will become more likely, and the SNP narrative of being torn out of the EU will lose all credibility. While the outlook for Catalonia and Spain looks ill, for Scotland and the UK it looks increasingly fair.

OTTO INGLIS, Edinburgh. STEPHEN DAISLEY (Mail) says former Nationalist MP George Kerevan is like Thomas Jefferson – ‘the founding father the Catalans never knew they wanted’.

As a former journalist, perhaps Mr Kerevan fancies himself more like Ernest Hemingway, who dipped in to the Spanish Civil War just for a good story.

ROBERT CLARK, Glasgow.