Monday, October 02, 2017
How not to defeat an independence movement
If we thought that the 'No' campaign during the Scottish referendum campaign was clunky, ham-fisted and counter-productive, then compared to the response of the Spanish authorities to the Catalan plebiscite it was a masterclass in how to deal with an independence movement.
The reaction of the central authorities to the Catalan vote on secession was not just disgraceful, it was an outrageous negation of democratic principles. The violence perpetrated by federal police on ordinary citizens who were just trying to cast their vote was more reminiscent of the Franco regime than a democratically elected government sitting within the European Union.
If there was not a majority for independence in Catalan before, there certainly is now. And frankly the Spanish authorities deserve all the problems their disproportionate and unacceptable actions will cause them.
They have succeeded in boosting the secessionist movement in Catalan. They may find it very difficult to put that genie back in the bottle.
The reaction of the central authorities to the Catalan vote on secession was not just disgraceful, it was an outrageous negation of democratic principles. The violence perpetrated by federal police on ordinary citizens who were just trying to cast their vote was more reminiscent of the Franco regime than a democratically elected government sitting within the European Union.
If there was not a majority for independence in Catalan before, there certainly is now. And frankly the Spanish authorities deserve all the problems their disproportionate and unacceptable actions will cause them.
They have succeeded in boosting the secessionist movement in Catalan. They may find it very difficult to put that genie back in the bottle.
