Spain should step back from brink
SPAIN already has a constitutional crisis on its hands as a result of the October 1 independence referendum in Catalonia.
If the Madrid Government makes further mistakes it could get much worse.
Its heavy-handed response to the public vote was a public relations disaster which left people in hospital after clashes with the police.
Madrid is now moving to assert direct rule over aspects of the Catalan Government. There is talk of ministers being removed and even speculation that attempts could be made to take control of local police and a television station.
Spanish ministers need to think more than one move ahead. How do they plan to enforce their decisions, and how do they expect millions of Catalans to respond if their regional government is seen to be effectively shut down by the central state?
Has Madrid forgotten that there are great swathes of the Catalan electorate who did not back proindependence parties in the last election but who will be horrified if there is yet more violence against unarmed protesters?
As Montgomeryshire Conservative MP Glyn Davies put it: “I’ve never seen a state behave in a way that’s more likely to persuade people to want to leave.”
There is a sense of bewilderment at Madrid’s clunking response to the political dilemmas posed by the stand-off. It could do little more to strengthen demand for independence than by taking control of a democratically elected regional government and detaining secessionists.
People who would have settled for greater autonomy within Spain will now wonder if the best way to protect their economy, their culture and their democracy is to break away.
Men and women who have only now taken part in their first mass march may find the experience so electrifying – and the case for independence so compelling – that they join the movement in earnest.
For hundreds of thousands of young people the events of this month have been a political awakening. If Madrid cannot convince them they are better together as part of a wider Spain then it is a question of when, and not if, Catalonia breaks away.
Just as there is a colossal responsibility on the Spanish Government not to do anything that risks unleashing dangerous forces throughout the country, so Catalan leaders have a profound duty of care to their supporters and their communities. It will be a tragedy if Barcelona becomes the scene of violent clashes and if lasting bitterness divides people in this beautiful part of Europe.
With goodwill and intelligence a democratic resolution to this stand-off should be within reach.
In Northern Ireland we have seen the horror which emerges when political disagreements are poisoned with hate and violence, but in Scotland we witnessed the extraordinary spectacle of a nation determining its future at the ballot box.
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