What exactly is happening in Catalonia? The territory is one of the
Comunidades Autónomas, a category of Spanish sub-state entities, and
amongst all of them, Catalonia already enjoys a higher degree of
autonomy and powers than most of its peers. But its political nature and
future are being hotly debated. Anybody could be forgiven for
struggling to disentangle the twisted strands of the current Catalan
saga, which shows no signs of reaching a conclusion any time soon. For
those of us in the UK, the problem is exacerbated by a tendency on the
part of the Anglophone ( British and American) media to grossly over-simplify, and therefore
distort, what is in reality an extremely complicated picture.
There has been a trend towards portraying the political conflict as a David and Goliath struggle between the cultural and linguistic minority who make up the Catalan region, and the mighty central state authorities in Madrid. However, as might be anticipated, this easy narrative is one which will not withstand even the lightest of scrutiny. The real position is indeed far more nuanced, and there are multiple shades of grey. At present, neither the group of pro-independence parties in control of the Catalan Parliament, nor the Government headed by Mariano Rajoy, the President of the Spanish executive in Madrid, are covering themselves with much glory, but the ongoing crisis can still teach the wider world lessons about negotiating constitutional reform, and there are some valuable insights which Britain might gain in contemplating both Brexit and the future of Scotland.
In short, neither the pro-independence nor the pro-Spain parties within the Catalan Parliament emerged with a working majority, and interestingly, support for the pro-independence options has declined, albeit slightly, since the previous election. After some turmoil, the pro-independence faction managed to gain effective control, because the left-wing and anti-austerity party Podemos refused to vote with the pro-Spanish grouping and claimed to be neutral towards both sides. Interestingly, Podemos’ official position is in favour of a unified Spain, although with the proviso that a lawful referendum should be arranged for Catalonia. However, as the pro-unity parties had coalesced around Ines Arrimadas, from the centre right party Ciudadanos, Podemos were unhappy with the possible implications for social and economic policy.
In light of this, the desire of pro-independence politicians in Catalonia to dismantle constitutional protections to further their own political ends cannot be praised, or even justified, and those with political power must defer to the courts and the rule of law if a liberal democracy is to function as such. Equally, it is unquestionable that this can only work if legitimate and functional channels are found to discuss and debate constitutional reform, and where necessary, move it forward.
For the complete report click here: The Troubling Legal And Political Uncertainty Facing Catalonia
There has been a trend towards portraying the political conflict as a David and Goliath struggle between the cultural and linguistic minority who make up the Catalan region, and the mighty central state authorities in Madrid. However, as might be anticipated, this easy narrative is one which will not withstand even the lightest of scrutiny. The real position is indeed far more nuanced, and there are multiple shades of grey. At present, neither the group of pro-independence parties in control of the Catalan Parliament, nor the Government headed by Mariano Rajoy, the President of the Spanish executive in Madrid, are covering themselves with much glory, but the ongoing crisis can still teach the wider world lessons about negotiating constitutional reform, and there are some valuable insights which Britain might gain in contemplating both Brexit and the future of Scotland.
In short, neither the pro-independence nor the pro-Spain parties within the Catalan Parliament emerged with a working majority, and interestingly, support for the pro-independence options has declined, albeit slightly, since the previous election. After some turmoil, the pro-independence faction managed to gain effective control, because the left-wing and anti-austerity party Podemos refused to vote with the pro-Spanish grouping and claimed to be neutral towards both sides. Interestingly, Podemos’ official position is in favour of a unified Spain, although with the proviso that a lawful referendum should be arranged for Catalonia. However, as the pro-unity parties had coalesced around Ines Arrimadas, from the centre right party Ciudadanos, Podemos were unhappy with the possible implications for social and economic policy.
In light of this, the desire of pro-independence politicians in Catalonia to dismantle constitutional protections to further their own political ends cannot be praised, or even justified, and those with political power must defer to the courts and the rule of law if a liberal democracy is to function as such. Equally, it is unquestionable that this can only work if legitimate and functional channels are found to discuss and debate constitutional reform, and where necessary, move it forward.
For the complete report click here: The Troubling Legal And Political Uncertainty Facing Catalonia
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