You probably won't have heard of the Fundéu BBVA. It is a foundation that was created in 2005 by one of the main news agencies, Efe, and the BBVA bank. Fundéu stands for Fundación del Español Urgente. It coordinates its work with the Real Academia Español, the director of which is the foundation's president. The academy supplies the last word on Spanish usage; its dictionary is of biblical proportions in defining what is correct.
"Urgente" means urgent, but in the context of the foundation it has nuance. Emergent is another meaning. Unlike English, for which words are dreamt up and become common usage without any body truly determining their legitimacy or not, Spanish (like French and other languages) has a form of language arbitration. It is the academy which is the arbiter.
Efe's involvement is key to the purpose of the foundation. The news agency seeks to clarify emergent usage and how it is presented. The foundation has, therefore, issued an edict in respect of one of the new words of the moment. "Turismofobia" is perfectly legitimate usage. Moreover, it is not necessary to place it within quote marks or alternatively to italicise it. Turismofobia is here, because Efe and the foundation have decided that it is.
The anglicisation of this - tourismphobia - has been rarely used. I don't know that I can claim to having been the first to have used it, but in 2011, when I did for the first time, it most certainly was new and seemingly unheard of in English. Six years ago, however, it had emerged in Spanish. And Spain, from what I could ascertain in April last year, was still one of the very few countries to have discovered this phobia. Italy was probably in fact the only other. In that country there has most obviously been the phobia in Venice.
Being Spain, there has to be acknowledgement of separate languages. In Catalan it's the same, save for the substitution of a vowel, but Basque is something else. It is "turismo borroka", and I'm reliably informed that "borroka" means fight as opposed to phobia. The actual meaning isn't especially important; the existence of the term is what is.
The Spanish word is, in a way, somewhat misleading. Regions such as Madrid, Andalusia and the Canaries insist that "turismofobia" isn't present. But it is in Catalan-speaking regions and now also in the Basque Country. Nevertheless, the word is on the lips of many a Castellano speaker, including leading hoteliers and politicians: the national minister for tourism, Alvaro Nadal, regularly refers to it.
Accepted and repeated usage brings with it ever broader awareness and diffusion. Tourismphobia has become a social reality, even if it is impossible to say how deep the phobia is or indeed how widespread it is. But the mere fact of its media legitimacy reflects its presence. And there are those who are only too willing to exploit this presence.
Arran in Mallorca maintain that they are not about tourismphobia. Tourism is not going to disappear, they acknowledge, but it needs to be controlled and regulated. It is causing many problems, just one of which relates to workers. Their conditions need to be improved.
In truth, there aren't many sectors which would disagree with the need to improve conditions, including the hoteliers. But the Arran manifesto of expropriation of this, that and the other is quite plainly ridiculous. What will the workers be doing if a sizable chunk of tourism was to disappear? This manifesto, it needs noting, isn't Arran's. It comes from the political party the group claims not to be formally linked with - the CUP in Catalonia.
The bout of tourismphobia that has been recently witnessed is, in my opinion, as much to do with the politics of the agitating far left as it is with tourism per se. Tourism provides a useful and convenient means through which to express this agitation. There are almost quaint echoes of the chaotic situation during the Second Republic, when anarchists were as crucial to the downfall of the Republic as others. Arran are sort of current-day heirs of that anarchy.
It is no coincidence that the Basques are now in on the act. San Sebastian is a city which has witnessed significant tourism growth in recent years. Similar fears about saturation exist there as they do in Palma, but San Sebastian isn't on the same media radar as Palma or Barcelona. Hence, there is the group Sortu, who want to place it on this radar.
It is Catalans and Basques who are fuelling this phobia, and it has to be seen within the context of independence demands. The CUP isn't an irrelevant party: it has ten seats out of 135 in the Catalonian parliament. It has its agenda and it wants to spread it to Mallorca.
Tourismphobia, Efe has clarified, is here. The question is whether it is here to stay.
Showing posts with label Independence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Independence. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 09, 2017
Friday, May 27, 2016
Singing For Balearic Independence
It's not easy attempting to explain to the uninitiated what a glosador is and does. Can it be defined as singing? Is it a vaguely melodic monologue? What is he/she going on about? In order to answer the last of these one would need to have a firm grasp of (typically) rural Mallorquín, its various accents and the degree to which it is being spoken/sung with what can seem like an imaginary potato in the mouth. As I, and I expect most of you, do not possess such a tight hold over the local and the variants thereof, then the explanation becomes doubly difficult. Pretty much impossible in fact. And if one tosses in (more than just metaphorically) the barely disguised onanism of the playing of the ximbomba as accompaniment, then all pretence at explanation is superseded by a dropped-jaw question: what the hell's that all about?
Without wishing to seem as though I am pursuing an erotic theme, much of it has to do with oral tradition. Oral, as in spoken (aka sung), was the required medium for a language (Mallorquín) with little or no written tradition. As most of the rural population wouldn't have been proud owners of a pen or other such writing implement, let alone know how to use it, such absence of written tradition was hardly a great surprise. And the same can be said of the reading tradition. Into this communicative vacuum, therefore, came the glosador some time around (at least) the nineteenth century. There were professional glosadors. They would hold contests. They still do. In addition to entertainment, they were engaged in the dissemination of information.
A root of the glosador - possibly - is the troubadour, the wandering minstrel of southern France and northern Spain who, in his original guise, dabbled in lyrics in the "langue d'oc". This tongue is important. It was and is otherwise known as Occitan, closed aligned to Catalan linguistically. The troubadour phenomenon arose in the twelfth century. His popularity was such that one would presume that he wasn't so far behind the invasion ships that arrived off Mallorca in the following century. Is it fanciful to suggest that over time the troubadour in his Mallorcan guise was to morph into the glosador? The meanings are not dissimilar. Troubadour comes from "trobar" - to compose; glosador from "glosar" - to provide a commentary.
Whatever the origins of the glosador there is no doubting the tradition and the obvious linguistic significance. The glosador is thus representative of something distinctly Mallorcan (and Balearic), which may help to explain why a glosador (more than one in fact) is aspiring to become a deputy in Congress on behalf of a newly formed party that goes by the name of Sobirania per a les Illes (sovereignty over the islands).
Mateu Matas, "Xuri", is one of Mallorca's best known glosadors. He is the lead candidate for what he has described as not being a political party. Rather like defining a glosador, it is difficult to therefore know how to define Sobirania if it claims not to be a party. There again, the same used to apply to Podemos.
And it is Podemos who seem to be the principal reason for the emergence of Sobirania. This stems from the decision of Més to ally itself with Podemos, characterised by Sobirania as a Madrid-based party and so, by implication, not a defender of nationalist, island rights. The like-minded in Sobirania have been left to feel like "orphans", deprived of a potential political say because Més, supposedly the voice of nationalism and sovereignty, have got into bed with Podemos.
Sobirania, let's call them Sobs shall we, is a peculiar alliance of one-time right-wingers, hard-left radicals, the odd screwball and glosadors. In the shadows, so it is being said, is one-time and briefly PP president of the Balearics, Cristòfol Soler, who long ago nailed his colours to the Balearic sovereignty movement (i.e. independence). There is also our old friend Jaume Sastre, the hunger-striking teacher, a man with a permanent look of utter misery combined with sheer anger: he's very much an independentist. We also have someone called Loreto Amorós, who is possibly worthy of an entire article. If not, let's just note that she has told her Twitter fans, of whom there are apparently thousands, that she does "topless". Good for her.
Do the Sobs have any chance of gaining a seat in Congress? Absolutely none. Xuri says that in addition to not actually being a party, the Sobs aren't looking to take votes from others. And he may be right, if no one votes for them. But one has to admire his optimism and his defence of islands' rights. You don't get much more Mallorcan (Balearic) than a glosador, and he says that "we are here to sing". So there you have it. It is singing after all.
Without wishing to seem as though I am pursuing an erotic theme, much of it has to do with oral tradition. Oral, as in spoken (aka sung), was the required medium for a language (Mallorquín) with little or no written tradition. As most of the rural population wouldn't have been proud owners of a pen or other such writing implement, let alone know how to use it, such absence of written tradition was hardly a great surprise. And the same can be said of the reading tradition. Into this communicative vacuum, therefore, came the glosador some time around (at least) the nineteenth century. There were professional glosadors. They would hold contests. They still do. In addition to entertainment, they were engaged in the dissemination of information.
A root of the glosador - possibly - is the troubadour, the wandering minstrel of southern France and northern Spain who, in his original guise, dabbled in lyrics in the "langue d'oc". This tongue is important. It was and is otherwise known as Occitan, closed aligned to Catalan linguistically. The troubadour phenomenon arose in the twelfth century. His popularity was such that one would presume that he wasn't so far behind the invasion ships that arrived off Mallorca in the following century. Is it fanciful to suggest that over time the troubadour in his Mallorcan guise was to morph into the glosador? The meanings are not dissimilar. Troubadour comes from "trobar" - to compose; glosador from "glosar" - to provide a commentary.
Whatever the origins of the glosador there is no doubting the tradition and the obvious linguistic significance. The glosador is thus representative of something distinctly Mallorcan (and Balearic), which may help to explain why a glosador (more than one in fact) is aspiring to become a deputy in Congress on behalf of a newly formed party that goes by the name of Sobirania per a les Illes (sovereignty over the islands).
Mateu Matas, "Xuri", is one of Mallorca's best known glosadors. He is the lead candidate for what he has described as not being a political party. Rather like defining a glosador, it is difficult to therefore know how to define Sobirania if it claims not to be a party. There again, the same used to apply to Podemos.
And it is Podemos who seem to be the principal reason for the emergence of Sobirania. This stems from the decision of Més to ally itself with Podemos, characterised by Sobirania as a Madrid-based party and so, by implication, not a defender of nationalist, island rights. The like-minded in Sobirania have been left to feel like "orphans", deprived of a potential political say because Més, supposedly the voice of nationalism and sovereignty, have got into bed with Podemos.
Sobirania, let's call them Sobs shall we, is a peculiar alliance of one-time right-wingers, hard-left radicals, the odd screwball and glosadors. In the shadows, so it is being said, is one-time and briefly PP president of the Balearics, Cristòfol Soler, who long ago nailed his colours to the Balearic sovereignty movement (i.e. independence). There is also our old friend Jaume Sastre, the hunger-striking teacher, a man with a permanent look of utter misery combined with sheer anger: he's very much an independentist. We also have someone called Loreto Amorós, who is possibly worthy of an entire article. If not, let's just note that she has told her Twitter fans, of whom there are apparently thousands, that she does "topless". Good for her.
Do the Sobs have any chance of gaining a seat in Congress? Absolutely none. Xuri says that in addition to not actually being a party, the Sobs aren't looking to take votes from others. And he may be right, if no one votes for them. But one has to admire his optimism and his defence of islands' rights. You don't get much more Mallorcan (Balearic) than a glosador, and he says that "we are here to sing". So there you have it. It is singing after all.
Tuesday, December 01, 2015
The Reluctant Anniversary: 1715 and all that
There was a demo in Palma on Saturday evening. Not far from the yacht club, the royal one that is, they were protesting against the occupation. It has lasted three hundred years. In all this time there have also been three hundred years of resistance, said the poster. The fight continues, the poster added, these same announcements adorning the banner held by those leading the protest. For the most part they seemed like earnest young men with beards and glasses. Their number was not great. The local police looked on. By-passers sauntered by. Oh, it'll be another demo, these uninterested observers might have thought, while wending their way to the bars of La Llonja and Santa Catalina, possibly having taken advantage of Black Friday bargains. Of the protesters, there weren't sufficient to match the 300 years of both occupation and resistance.
This occupation, in case you are wondering, is that of the Bourbons and the Spanish army. Three hundred years ago, Felipe V, the first of the Bourbons, issued a decree as one of the series of Nueva Planta, aimed at dealing with what he saw as the sedition of the Catalans and their allies in the Crown of Aragon, of which Mallorca was one. On 28 November, 1715, this particular decree established the post of the Captain General, representative of the king, who enforced military rule of the island. Three hundred years later, resistance, such as it is, is to this very decree.
While the resistance was marching, the occupying force was holding a guard of honour. A Catalan press headline read: "The Spanish army occupies the centre of Palma and fills it with Spanish flags to celebrate the Nueva Planta decree." An accompanying photograph usefully revealed these flags that were lining the street of the Palau Reial, the palace itself being the current residence of the Council of Mallorca.
On the 300 years of occupation, 300 years of resistance Facebook page, there are posts that highlighted the guard of honour and also announced the march. It had 326 likes (as of Sunday) and had shown zero per cent upward like movement since last week. It also announced the commemorative act that was to follow the march. At 7pm on Saturday, they gathered at the headquarters of the Council. Among their number was its president, Miquel Ensenyat, who said that this was "a day of solemnity, which we remember and not celebrate".
The sponsors of the protest, organisations whose names appeared on the poster that is, included Arran, the left-wing Catalan independence youth movement, the successor to the Maulets, an organisation that tended to have more of a revolutionary fervour. Arran, as of two years ago, could count on no more than 700 or so members spread across Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearics.
The Catalonian drive towards independence has its historical roots in the same series of decrees that established the Captain General, but it is this history where similarity ends. Enthusiasm for independence in Catalonia is not matched in Mallorca. Here, it barely exists.
The protest march received little attention in the media. The commemorative act, on the other hand, received some. But then events involving presidents, be they the Council's or the regional government's, will tend to, regardless of the event. The guard of honour, meanwhile - a beefed-up changing of the guard of honour which takes place on the final Saturday of most months - merited some more attention. But not a great deal. The army might have been keen, but there appears not to have been general enthusiasm. On balance, it was perhaps wise to let the occasion pass without too much fuss. There were around 300 people; more than took part in the protest.
In a way, such an important date in the island's history deserved far greater coverage. But while there have been any number of events at local town and village level which have considered what happened three hundred years ago, 28 November, 1715 has been allowed to come and go with barely a murmur: they were far more concerned about the last bargains for Black Friday in Palma. Ensenyat was right in suggesting that there wasn't anything to celebrate, and this could be said for both "sides", such as they are. If you are representatives of the state, then you are hardly going to want to go around appearing triumphalist for something which occurred three hundred years ago. Mark the anniversary, let a band play here or there, and leave it at that.
That Saturday marked a 300th anniversary should say a lot. It was a long time ago. As such, its relevance is mostly as a matter of historical record. There are those who would wish to make more of it, those who continue the resistance and the fight. Their numbers, though, are minimal. History is not forgotten, it may not be totally forgiven, but this is not 1715.
This occupation, in case you are wondering, is that of the Bourbons and the Spanish army. Three hundred years ago, Felipe V, the first of the Bourbons, issued a decree as one of the series of Nueva Planta, aimed at dealing with what he saw as the sedition of the Catalans and their allies in the Crown of Aragon, of which Mallorca was one. On 28 November, 1715, this particular decree established the post of the Captain General, representative of the king, who enforced military rule of the island. Three hundred years later, resistance, such as it is, is to this very decree.
While the resistance was marching, the occupying force was holding a guard of honour. A Catalan press headline read: "The Spanish army occupies the centre of Palma and fills it with Spanish flags to celebrate the Nueva Planta decree." An accompanying photograph usefully revealed these flags that were lining the street of the Palau Reial, the palace itself being the current residence of the Council of Mallorca.
On the 300 years of occupation, 300 years of resistance Facebook page, there are posts that highlighted the guard of honour and also announced the march. It had 326 likes (as of Sunday) and had shown zero per cent upward like movement since last week. It also announced the commemorative act that was to follow the march. At 7pm on Saturday, they gathered at the headquarters of the Council. Among their number was its president, Miquel Ensenyat, who said that this was "a day of solemnity, which we remember and not celebrate".
The sponsors of the protest, organisations whose names appeared on the poster that is, included Arran, the left-wing Catalan independence youth movement, the successor to the Maulets, an organisation that tended to have more of a revolutionary fervour. Arran, as of two years ago, could count on no more than 700 or so members spread across Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearics.
The Catalonian drive towards independence has its historical roots in the same series of decrees that established the Captain General, but it is this history where similarity ends. Enthusiasm for independence in Catalonia is not matched in Mallorca. Here, it barely exists.
The protest march received little attention in the media. The commemorative act, on the other hand, received some. But then events involving presidents, be they the Council's or the regional government's, will tend to, regardless of the event. The guard of honour, meanwhile - a beefed-up changing of the guard of honour which takes place on the final Saturday of most months - merited some more attention. But not a great deal. The army might have been keen, but there appears not to have been general enthusiasm. On balance, it was perhaps wise to let the occasion pass without too much fuss. There were around 300 people; more than took part in the protest.
In a way, such an important date in the island's history deserved far greater coverage. But while there have been any number of events at local town and village level which have considered what happened three hundred years ago, 28 November, 1715 has been allowed to come and go with barely a murmur: they were far more concerned about the last bargains for Black Friday in Palma. Ensenyat was right in suggesting that there wasn't anything to celebrate, and this could be said for both "sides", such as they are. If you are representatives of the state, then you are hardly going to want to go around appearing triumphalist for something which occurred three hundred years ago. Mark the anniversary, let a band play here or there, and leave it at that.
That Saturday marked a 300th anniversary should say a lot. It was a long time ago. As such, its relevance is mostly as a matter of historical record. There are those who would wish to make more of it, those who continue the resistance and the fight. Their numbers, though, are minimal. History is not forgotten, it may not be totally forgiven, but this is not 1715.
Friday, November 13, 2015
Whose War Is It Anyway?: Catalonia
There was a graphic the other day which showed the sphere of military influence that a "hypothetical" independent Catalonia would require. It featured a couple of fighter planes over the sea between the mainland and the Balearics. They were within this theoretical Catalonian military force field, as also were - pointedly - the military installation on the summit of the Puig Major and indeed the whole of the Balearics.
Hypotheses are edging closer to be realities, yet these realities are unreal. These are truly odd times. Catalonia's parliament, having determined that Spain's Constitutional Court no longer has any legitimacy over Catalonia's affairs, is racing, within the next 30 days, towards the drafting of laws for a separate social security system, a separate treasury and, most significantly, a separate constitution. The appearance is given of independence having already been declared. What next? A separate law for the military and a Catalan invasion of the Balearics reminiscent of 1229? Maybe they'll name the lead fighter plane Jaume I.
The bizarre nature of what is going on can be summed up both by the parliament's pre-independence rejection of Spain's constitution and by Spain's chief prosecutor at the Audiencia Nacional (High Court) having ordered the state's security forces to report on possible offences of sedition and rebellion against the state. The two offences carry, respectively, sentences of up to 15 and 30 years. The High Court doesn't, so it would seem, have powers to prosecute the likes of presidents of regional governments, but it can order investigations, which it has done.
One of the forces which has been given the order is the Catalonian police force, the Mossos d'Esquadra. The fact that it, along with the National Police, the Guardia Civil and the secretary-of-state for security have all been sent a similar instruction by the court should be enough to give Catalonia's leaders the heebie-jeebies. But it is an order which raises rather more concern. Where do the Mossos stand in all this? It's a Catalonian police force, and it was approved as such under Spain's constitution. A Catalonian "constitution" would presumably reiterate and reinforce this, but would this be accepted, while if Catalonia rejects the Spanish constitution, does this not invalidate the provisions of the constitution and the Catalonian statute of autonomy which enabled the Mossos to be transferred to Catalonian jurisdiction in the first place? Moreover, once police forces become embroiled, the whole saga of independence takes on a rather different complexion, as it also does when there is reference - as with the graphic - to military matters.
With reasonable certainty, one can say that the Balearics are not about to become involved and to throw the door open to a Catalonian air force (if it had one, which it doesn't) and allow it to use Palma's Son Sant Joan. Though there are elements within the regional government and the Council of Mallorca who are sympathetic to the notion of the Catalan Lands, their numbers are small, while the populace is not sympathetic. Nor are most politicians, such as from PSOE and even Podemos. Cast as left-wing, on the independence issue Podemos has little truck with it, and that's because it rejects notions of nationalism full stop, be they Spanish, Catalonian or anyone else's.
Balearic politicians have spoken in favour of Catalonia being able to determine its own future, but they, as with many observers from overseas, I suspect, miss the point about how Catalonia arrived at the mad situation in which it finds itself. This is is not just about self-government, self-determination and independence. It has as much if not more to do with Artur Mas.
By the time this article appears, Mas may have been sworn in once more as president of Catalonia. His investiture was on hold because the left-wing CUP voted against it, despite being in favour of independence. The reason it had voted against Mas was that it is concerned that the whole issue, and indeed the whole of Catalonia politics, is focused on one person, i.e. Mas. The CUP wants someone else. It may be right to wish this, but how could Mas walk away or be pushed away from a process which is largely of his own making?
Mas, at one time cast as a somewhat dull technocratic politician, has dug a hole from which he cannot exit. He has successively become more fanatical about independence when this wasn't once the case. He was pushed towards this by Rajoy's flat refusal to renegotiate Catalonia's financing, but he has also used independence to divert attention from corruption allegations and to seek to bolster his own power. Both he and Rajoy are at fault, but observers from overseas should be under no illusion that the Catalonia affair is all a romantic drive towards independence. It isn't, as it became - for different reasons - Mas's crusade and Mas's war.
Hypotheses are edging closer to be realities, yet these realities are unreal. These are truly odd times. Catalonia's parliament, having determined that Spain's Constitutional Court no longer has any legitimacy over Catalonia's affairs, is racing, within the next 30 days, towards the drafting of laws for a separate social security system, a separate treasury and, most significantly, a separate constitution. The appearance is given of independence having already been declared. What next? A separate law for the military and a Catalan invasion of the Balearics reminiscent of 1229? Maybe they'll name the lead fighter plane Jaume I.
The bizarre nature of what is going on can be summed up both by the parliament's pre-independence rejection of Spain's constitution and by Spain's chief prosecutor at the Audiencia Nacional (High Court) having ordered the state's security forces to report on possible offences of sedition and rebellion against the state. The two offences carry, respectively, sentences of up to 15 and 30 years. The High Court doesn't, so it would seem, have powers to prosecute the likes of presidents of regional governments, but it can order investigations, which it has done.
One of the forces which has been given the order is the Catalonian police force, the Mossos d'Esquadra. The fact that it, along with the National Police, the Guardia Civil and the secretary-of-state for security have all been sent a similar instruction by the court should be enough to give Catalonia's leaders the heebie-jeebies. But it is an order which raises rather more concern. Where do the Mossos stand in all this? It's a Catalonian police force, and it was approved as such under Spain's constitution. A Catalonian "constitution" would presumably reiterate and reinforce this, but would this be accepted, while if Catalonia rejects the Spanish constitution, does this not invalidate the provisions of the constitution and the Catalonian statute of autonomy which enabled the Mossos to be transferred to Catalonian jurisdiction in the first place? Moreover, once police forces become embroiled, the whole saga of independence takes on a rather different complexion, as it also does when there is reference - as with the graphic - to military matters.
With reasonable certainty, one can say that the Balearics are not about to become involved and to throw the door open to a Catalonian air force (if it had one, which it doesn't) and allow it to use Palma's Son Sant Joan. Though there are elements within the regional government and the Council of Mallorca who are sympathetic to the notion of the Catalan Lands, their numbers are small, while the populace is not sympathetic. Nor are most politicians, such as from PSOE and even Podemos. Cast as left-wing, on the independence issue Podemos has little truck with it, and that's because it rejects notions of nationalism full stop, be they Spanish, Catalonian or anyone else's.
Balearic politicians have spoken in favour of Catalonia being able to determine its own future, but they, as with many observers from overseas, I suspect, miss the point about how Catalonia arrived at the mad situation in which it finds itself. This is is not just about self-government, self-determination and independence. It has as much if not more to do with Artur Mas.
By the time this article appears, Mas may have been sworn in once more as president of Catalonia. His investiture was on hold because the left-wing CUP voted against it, despite being in favour of independence. The reason it had voted against Mas was that it is concerned that the whole issue, and indeed the whole of Catalonia politics, is focused on one person, i.e. Mas. The CUP wants someone else. It may be right to wish this, but how could Mas walk away or be pushed away from a process which is largely of his own making?
Mas, at one time cast as a somewhat dull technocratic politician, has dug a hole from which he cannot exit. He has successively become more fanatical about independence when this wasn't once the case. He was pushed towards this by Rajoy's flat refusal to renegotiate Catalonia's financing, but he has also used independence to divert attention from corruption allegations and to seek to bolster his own power. Both he and Rajoy are at fault, but observers from overseas should be under no illusion that the Catalonia affair is all a romantic drive towards independence. It isn't, as it became - for different reasons - Mas's crusade and Mas's war.
Wednesday, October 07, 2015
The Nation As Victim
Next Monday is Spain's National Day. It is a day that will be celebrated with some joy by travel agents and hoteliers. The Monday is pleasantly convenient for the sale of the "puente" weekend breaks, and in Mallorca there is no tourist tax to worry about. Yet.
It will be a day when there will be powerful affirmations of the Spanish nation: all of Spain, Catalonia included. One nation. But while the oratory will be fine and while it will plead for unity, where, amidst all this rhetoric, will be the sentiments of Spanish people? Pride in the nation quite possibly or even probably, but what sort of nation?
The Catalonia question and the ancillary local one of Mallorca's varying shades of regionalism and nationalism are but two examples of a nation not entirely whole. There are further ones, the Basque Country most obviously, and lesser notions of self-determination in, for instance, Galicia or the Canaries. What these all have in common is history, with the histories of Catalonia and Mallorca inextricably linked in ways that others are not. History, the past are invoked. But to what degree is history claimed by Spaniards, those of the nation for whom demands for secession by parts of the nation appear baffling?
We all of us carry our history with us. I am variously English or British. But in neither guise, despite all the history, do I pay attention to it. I don't think about being English or British, I just am. William the Conqueror, Wars of the Roses, Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, Cromwell, Palmerston, Gladstone, Disraeli, Churchill, the world wars. They all feature but I spend no time in considering any of this in contemplating Englishness or Britishness. And nor, I suspect, do most English people. Scots, Welsh, Irish, I concede, will be different.
Spain's National Day celebrates the moment when land was first discovered in the Americas. In one way it is odd, as the discoverer wasn't Spanish, albeit there are those who would argue that Columbus was - Gabriel Verd, for instance, who is convinced that Columbus came from Porto Colom. Regardless of where he was from, the discovery was what put Spain on the map. Literally. Spanishness invaded the Americas, its central and southerly parts. 1492 was a momentous year. The New World was found and the final Muslim enclave in Granada fell. It ushered in the rivers of gold and the period of imperial and national power that wasn't to endure.
Despite the obvious significance of 1492, for Spaniards, if they consider themselves in historical terms at all, the dates are much more contemporary. 1936 and 1975 define Spain more than do 1492 or 1715. For the Catalonians and for Mallorcans, however, this latter date is defining.
Catalonia's National Day is quite different in its commemoration to that of Spain. It remembers defeat - in September 1714 - at the hands of Castile and the Bourbons. The consequences of this defeat - the removal of powers, the Nueva Planta decrees, the ending of the wider crown of Aragon, the repression of Catalan - go to the heart of independence. Money also plays a vital role as well, but in terms of sentiment, the events of three hundred years ago influence the secessionist narrative. Just as they also play a part in the sentiments of those in Mallorca who feel a common bond with Catalonia and so also the notion of a nationalism within a grouping of the Catalan Lands.
A prime advocate of this bond is Miquel Ensenyat, the president of the Council of Mallorca. He has been accused, however, of playing the victim card, of styling Mallorca in terms of the persecutory nature of the Nueva Planta. It is this, the notion of the victim, which explains much when it comes to how individuals define themselves. The English were never victims. The Spanish were victims up to a point, but for almost all the period after the Napoleonic Wars of the early nineteenth century until Franco sought to put an end to it, Spain was a nation at war with itself and so brought about its own downfall from power.
Though not all Mallorcans will define themselves in the way that Ensenyat does and though likewise not all Catalonians will dwell on matters three hundred years ago, those events do go a long way to explaining how things now are and, as importantly, to explaining how collective mindsets differ. Catalonia is the nation as victim. By extension, so is Mallorca. For the English (British) and the Spanish, there isn't the same collective impulse. Indeed, it is the reverse, because of their times of domination.
It may seem baffling that, in a contemporary society, there is a drive to independence or to expressions of greater nationalism, but if the collective psyche is not one of the victim, then it will be baffling, as there is not the same baggage of the past.
It will be a day when there will be powerful affirmations of the Spanish nation: all of Spain, Catalonia included. One nation. But while the oratory will be fine and while it will plead for unity, where, amidst all this rhetoric, will be the sentiments of Spanish people? Pride in the nation quite possibly or even probably, but what sort of nation?
The Catalonia question and the ancillary local one of Mallorca's varying shades of regionalism and nationalism are but two examples of a nation not entirely whole. There are further ones, the Basque Country most obviously, and lesser notions of self-determination in, for instance, Galicia or the Canaries. What these all have in common is history, with the histories of Catalonia and Mallorca inextricably linked in ways that others are not. History, the past are invoked. But to what degree is history claimed by Spaniards, those of the nation for whom demands for secession by parts of the nation appear baffling?
We all of us carry our history with us. I am variously English or British. But in neither guise, despite all the history, do I pay attention to it. I don't think about being English or British, I just am. William the Conqueror, Wars of the Roses, Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, Cromwell, Palmerston, Gladstone, Disraeli, Churchill, the world wars. They all feature but I spend no time in considering any of this in contemplating Englishness or Britishness. And nor, I suspect, do most English people. Scots, Welsh, Irish, I concede, will be different.
Spain's National Day celebrates the moment when land was first discovered in the Americas. In one way it is odd, as the discoverer wasn't Spanish, albeit there are those who would argue that Columbus was - Gabriel Verd, for instance, who is convinced that Columbus came from Porto Colom. Regardless of where he was from, the discovery was what put Spain on the map. Literally. Spanishness invaded the Americas, its central and southerly parts. 1492 was a momentous year. The New World was found and the final Muslim enclave in Granada fell. It ushered in the rivers of gold and the period of imperial and national power that wasn't to endure.
Despite the obvious significance of 1492, for Spaniards, if they consider themselves in historical terms at all, the dates are much more contemporary. 1936 and 1975 define Spain more than do 1492 or 1715. For the Catalonians and for Mallorcans, however, this latter date is defining.
Catalonia's National Day is quite different in its commemoration to that of Spain. It remembers defeat - in September 1714 - at the hands of Castile and the Bourbons. The consequences of this defeat - the removal of powers, the Nueva Planta decrees, the ending of the wider crown of Aragon, the repression of Catalan - go to the heart of independence. Money also plays a vital role as well, but in terms of sentiment, the events of three hundred years ago influence the secessionist narrative. Just as they also play a part in the sentiments of those in Mallorca who feel a common bond with Catalonia and so also the notion of a nationalism within a grouping of the Catalan Lands.
A prime advocate of this bond is Miquel Ensenyat, the president of the Council of Mallorca. He has been accused, however, of playing the victim card, of styling Mallorca in terms of the persecutory nature of the Nueva Planta. It is this, the notion of the victim, which explains much when it comes to how individuals define themselves. The English were never victims. The Spanish were victims up to a point, but for almost all the period after the Napoleonic Wars of the early nineteenth century until Franco sought to put an end to it, Spain was a nation at war with itself and so brought about its own downfall from power.
Though not all Mallorcans will define themselves in the way that Ensenyat does and though likewise not all Catalonians will dwell on matters three hundred years ago, those events do go a long way to explaining how things now are and, as importantly, to explaining how collective mindsets differ. Catalonia is the nation as victim. By extension, so is Mallorca. For the English (British) and the Spanish, there isn't the same collective impulse. Indeed, it is the reverse, because of their times of domination.
It may seem baffling that, in a contemporary society, there is a drive to independence or to expressions of greater nationalism, but if the collective psyche is not one of the victim, then it will be baffling, as there is not the same baggage of the past.
Friday, August 28, 2015
The Big Fat One: Greater Catalonia
We all know El Gordo, the big, fat Christmas lottery with the interminable, monotonous infant chanting of the numbers. We don't all know Germà Gordó, but he wants us all to know him. He is Catalonia's minister of justice, and he believes there should be a big, fat Catalonia - the complete Catalan nation of Catalonia, Valencia, part of Aragon, Roussillon and the Balearics. (What have the Andorrans and the few knocking around in Sardinia done to deserve being excluded?)
El Gordó made his remarks at the weekend at the Catalan Summer University, a gathering held in the Roussillon town of Prades, west of Perpignan. The construction of a state, he said, in reference to an independent Catalonia, should not forget the entire nation, by which he meant the above listed regions. This "state" could grant its nationality on their citizens: the Catalonian nationality of a hypothetically independent Catalonia and an even more hypothetically Greater Catalonia, the sovereign nation of the mythical Catalan Lands.
To say that the suggestion has not gone down terribly well would be a massive understatement. The Valencians, in particular, are absolutely furious. If you think the linguistic wars of Mallorca are all a bit baffling not to say weird, these are nothing compared with Valencia's. As far as some Valencians are concerned, the Valencian language was formed separately from Catalan. Ultimately, everything, obviously including the notion of the Catalan Lands, comes back to language. Or not, as the case may be.
In trying to clear up the controversy that has been caused, the Catalonian government spokesperson, Neus Munté, has said that when El Gordó was referring to the entire nation, he was referring only to a strengthening of a common linguistic bond. In so doing, she has really only made matters worse as this clearly wasn't all that was being referred to, while the whole linguistic bond thing is wrapped up in regionalist sentiments, such as that in Valencia, which dispute the existence of such a bond.
But the issue does go wider than language, and it has to do with Catalonian ambition. For many, the Catalonian wish for independence extends beyond its borders and so not to the creation of a greater nation but something akin to a Catalonian empire, with Barcelona at its centre issuing commands.
Mallorca and Mallorcans are contrary. Many a Mallorcan supports Barcelona's football team, way more than support Real Mallorca. Many a Mallorcan clings to a Catalan heritage, bequeathed by Jaume I. But these same Barcelona-supporting, Catalan culturalists want nothing to do with Barcelona political dominance. They also, despite defending the teaching of Catalan and its preferential use in the public sector, say they speak Mallorquín and not Catalan. And they will say it with some intensity, just as they will be equally insistent in saying that they are Mallorcan. Despite all the history, which can get extremely tedious when it comes to arguments regarding linguistic roots, Catalonia's claim to one-time nationhood and so on, Mallorcans have a pick 'n' mix attitude: Catalonia and Catalan when they suit, Mallorca when it doesn't and, more often than not, Spanish as well. And just like the Valencians, there'll be arguments about separate language development.
So when a politician like El Gordó comes along and starts talking about Mallorca and the Balearics being part of a Catalan nation, the Mallorca part of the mix pulls the drawbridge up and repels the invader with its own volleys of rejection, almost as vociferous as those that have emanated from Valencia. The fact is, however, that there is not a cat in hell's chance that such a Catalan nation would ever be formed. President Armengol says that the debate kicked off by El Gordó is "sterile", and she's right, because there is no potency. Repeated surveys into identity have shown that support for the Catalan Lands is all but non-existent. Even some Catalan nationalists in Mallorca will admit that this is the case and that the notion simply would never fly.
This being the case, why is the suggestion even made? Partly of course it is all to do with history. But if history is so sure, why isn't it Aragon making the claim for nationhood, because that's where Jaume was king and that's what Mallorca (and Catalonia) were once a part of - the Crown of Aragon? The history, though, can get tedious. It can be interpreted and used to support whatever claim is being made. It can also, obviously, seem not of the present day or of the future.
But more fundamentally, and this is how the issue is perceived by many Mallorcans, it all has to do with Catalonia having ideas above its station, one that hasn't in fact yet been attained - an independent state. That, independence, does not have widespread support in Mallorca, while Greater Catalonia has virtually none.
El Gordó made his remarks at the weekend at the Catalan Summer University, a gathering held in the Roussillon town of Prades, west of Perpignan. The construction of a state, he said, in reference to an independent Catalonia, should not forget the entire nation, by which he meant the above listed regions. This "state" could grant its nationality on their citizens: the Catalonian nationality of a hypothetically independent Catalonia and an even more hypothetically Greater Catalonia, the sovereign nation of the mythical Catalan Lands.
To say that the suggestion has not gone down terribly well would be a massive understatement. The Valencians, in particular, are absolutely furious. If you think the linguistic wars of Mallorca are all a bit baffling not to say weird, these are nothing compared with Valencia's. As far as some Valencians are concerned, the Valencian language was formed separately from Catalan. Ultimately, everything, obviously including the notion of the Catalan Lands, comes back to language. Or not, as the case may be.
In trying to clear up the controversy that has been caused, the Catalonian government spokesperson, Neus Munté, has said that when El Gordó was referring to the entire nation, he was referring only to a strengthening of a common linguistic bond. In so doing, she has really only made matters worse as this clearly wasn't all that was being referred to, while the whole linguistic bond thing is wrapped up in regionalist sentiments, such as that in Valencia, which dispute the existence of such a bond.
But the issue does go wider than language, and it has to do with Catalonian ambition. For many, the Catalonian wish for independence extends beyond its borders and so not to the creation of a greater nation but something akin to a Catalonian empire, with Barcelona at its centre issuing commands.
Mallorca and Mallorcans are contrary. Many a Mallorcan supports Barcelona's football team, way more than support Real Mallorca. Many a Mallorcan clings to a Catalan heritage, bequeathed by Jaume I. But these same Barcelona-supporting, Catalan culturalists want nothing to do with Barcelona political dominance. They also, despite defending the teaching of Catalan and its preferential use in the public sector, say they speak Mallorquín and not Catalan. And they will say it with some intensity, just as they will be equally insistent in saying that they are Mallorcan. Despite all the history, which can get extremely tedious when it comes to arguments regarding linguistic roots, Catalonia's claim to one-time nationhood and so on, Mallorcans have a pick 'n' mix attitude: Catalonia and Catalan when they suit, Mallorca when it doesn't and, more often than not, Spanish as well. And just like the Valencians, there'll be arguments about separate language development.
So when a politician like El Gordó comes along and starts talking about Mallorca and the Balearics being part of a Catalan nation, the Mallorca part of the mix pulls the drawbridge up and repels the invader with its own volleys of rejection, almost as vociferous as those that have emanated from Valencia. The fact is, however, that there is not a cat in hell's chance that such a Catalan nation would ever be formed. President Armengol says that the debate kicked off by El Gordó is "sterile", and she's right, because there is no potency. Repeated surveys into identity have shown that support for the Catalan Lands is all but non-existent. Even some Catalan nationalists in Mallorca will admit that this is the case and that the notion simply would never fly.
This being the case, why is the suggestion even made? Partly of course it is all to do with history. But if history is so sure, why isn't it Aragon making the claim for nationhood, because that's where Jaume was king and that's what Mallorca (and Catalonia) were once a part of - the Crown of Aragon? The history, though, can get tedious. It can be interpreted and used to support whatever claim is being made. It can also, obviously, seem not of the present day or of the future.
But more fundamentally, and this is how the issue is perceived by many Mallorcans, it all has to do with Catalonia having ideas above its station, one that hasn't in fact yet been attained - an independent state. That, independence, does not have widespread support in Mallorca, while Greater Catalonia has virtually none.
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Catalonia: One big mess
As an example of an exercise in mass opinion polling, the Catalonia not-the-referendum has signalled huge support for the "sí" camp. Yes, we want independence. Now, Sr. Rajoy, let us have it. Or at least let us have a real referendum and not a pretend one.
Rajoy isn't about to agree to this, though were he to and to therefore have gained sufficient support to have changed the Constitution, the result might well be quite different. The 80% in favour of independence were culled from 2.2 million voters, approximately therefore one third of all those who were eligible. In terms of participation the not-the-referendum can only be described as a form of opinion poll and one, moreover, that had an in-built bias thanks to the almost total absence of a "no" campaign and to a Catalan media which, for the most part, came down firmly on the side of Artur Mas and his referendum co-conspirator, Oriol Junqueras.
The result proves nothing other than that 80% of 2.2 million people said yes. It is a percentage greatly in excess of that which regular opinion polls indicate to be the actual level of support for independence. In a real referendum the dynamic would be different and the turnout would also be different. Mas would be quite wrong to believe that independence is genuinely what the majority of Catalonians want.
So, why did he go ahead with the not-the-referendum? He had to in order to save face, having conceded that a genuine referendum was not legal (something which he knew all along). But he also had to as a way of highlighting the sheer lack of any movement in attitude on behalf of the Rajoy government. Its response to the very act of the poll on Sunday was to invoke the courts and to have the police look into who had authorised the use of schools etc. to be polling stations.
Mas argues that he has Catalonian law on his side and this allowed for the not-the-referendum to take place, but regardless of the law, be it that of Catalonia or that of the Constitution, why would the Rajoy government now seek to have the courts decide whether an illegal act has taken place which could lead to prosecution of Mas and others? It is petty, because the poll is not legally binding, cannot be legally binding and only serves as an expression of sentiment of a minority of Catalonians.
What really agitates Rajoy is that the 80% vote boxes him into a corner. To even now negotiate with Mas would appear to be a climbdown and a loss of his face. To agree to a referendum would mean a complete loss of any credibility he retains, while to arrive at agreement would require support at the Cortes for constitutional change that would be almost unimaginable. He would know that a legitimate referendum might well turn out differently, but he can't put that to the test. He has nowhere to go except to the courts. And what good will that do him? It will only reinforce sentiment against him.
Though Rajoy now finds himself in a corner, it was Mas who got there first. It was his foolhardiness in calling an election that he didn't need to which got him to where he now is. That election cost his CiU party seats at the expense of Junqueras's radical independentist ERC who were thus brought into an uneasy coalition in which Mas had little option but to adopt a more aggressive attitude towards independence than he might otherwise have done. It can't be stressed too often that what Mas had really sought was a re-negotiation of Catalonia's finances with the state, and it was a refusal by Rajoy which triggered off the process which resulted in Sunday's not-the-referendum.
Where, therefore, might this now lead, other than to the courts? The leader of PSOE, Pedro Sánchez, might hold the key. His party has been as against independence as the Partido Popular. A solution, perhaps the only solution, is a reform of the whole relationship between the state, Catalonia and the other regions, i.e. a fully federal Spain. It is one that PSOE has recently come to accept, but neither Rajoy nor Mas, for different reasons, has.
Federalism might, for the more radically independentist-minded, now seem like a fudge, but a way has to be sought to combat what is clearly a deeply divided Catalonian society and the ambitions of any other region to seek independence (in truth only maybe the Basques). Both Rajoy and Mas have to share the blame for what has come to pass but both could find a way out of the mess, and a reform on federalist lines with thus greater self-governing powers might well be the only way out.
Rajoy isn't about to agree to this, though were he to and to therefore have gained sufficient support to have changed the Constitution, the result might well be quite different. The 80% in favour of independence were culled from 2.2 million voters, approximately therefore one third of all those who were eligible. In terms of participation the not-the-referendum can only be described as a form of opinion poll and one, moreover, that had an in-built bias thanks to the almost total absence of a "no" campaign and to a Catalan media which, for the most part, came down firmly on the side of Artur Mas and his referendum co-conspirator, Oriol Junqueras.
The result proves nothing other than that 80% of 2.2 million people said yes. It is a percentage greatly in excess of that which regular opinion polls indicate to be the actual level of support for independence. In a real referendum the dynamic would be different and the turnout would also be different. Mas would be quite wrong to believe that independence is genuinely what the majority of Catalonians want.
So, why did he go ahead with the not-the-referendum? He had to in order to save face, having conceded that a genuine referendum was not legal (something which he knew all along). But he also had to as a way of highlighting the sheer lack of any movement in attitude on behalf of the Rajoy government. Its response to the very act of the poll on Sunday was to invoke the courts and to have the police look into who had authorised the use of schools etc. to be polling stations.
Mas argues that he has Catalonian law on his side and this allowed for the not-the-referendum to take place, but regardless of the law, be it that of Catalonia or that of the Constitution, why would the Rajoy government now seek to have the courts decide whether an illegal act has taken place which could lead to prosecution of Mas and others? It is petty, because the poll is not legally binding, cannot be legally binding and only serves as an expression of sentiment of a minority of Catalonians.
What really agitates Rajoy is that the 80% vote boxes him into a corner. To even now negotiate with Mas would appear to be a climbdown and a loss of his face. To agree to a referendum would mean a complete loss of any credibility he retains, while to arrive at agreement would require support at the Cortes for constitutional change that would be almost unimaginable. He would know that a legitimate referendum might well turn out differently, but he can't put that to the test. He has nowhere to go except to the courts. And what good will that do him? It will only reinforce sentiment against him.
Though Rajoy now finds himself in a corner, it was Mas who got there first. It was his foolhardiness in calling an election that he didn't need to which got him to where he now is. That election cost his CiU party seats at the expense of Junqueras's radical independentist ERC who were thus brought into an uneasy coalition in which Mas had little option but to adopt a more aggressive attitude towards independence than he might otherwise have done. It can't be stressed too often that what Mas had really sought was a re-negotiation of Catalonia's finances with the state, and it was a refusal by Rajoy which triggered off the process which resulted in Sunday's not-the-referendum.
Where, therefore, might this now lead, other than to the courts? The leader of PSOE, Pedro Sánchez, might hold the key. His party has been as against independence as the Partido Popular. A solution, perhaps the only solution, is a reform of the whole relationship between the state, Catalonia and the other regions, i.e. a fully federal Spain. It is one that PSOE has recently come to accept, but neither Rajoy nor Mas, for different reasons, has.
Federalism might, for the more radically independentist-minded, now seem like a fudge, but a way has to be sought to combat what is clearly a deeply divided Catalonian society and the ambitions of any other region to seek independence (in truth only maybe the Basques). Both Rajoy and Mas have to share the blame for what has come to pass but both could find a way out of the mess, and a reform on federalist lines with thus greater self-governing powers might well be the only way out.
Monday, September 22, 2014
The Accidental Independentists
At the same time as Scotland was raising cheers or weeping tears and as Alex Salmond was falling on his dirk of honour, the Catalonian parliament overwhelmingly approved its law to permit a referendum which isn't a referendum on independence; they've given it a different title. The national government will refer the consultation to the Constitutional Court in anticipation of the Catalonian law being deemed illegal.
Comparisons between Scotland and Catalonia are both relevant and irrelevant. An act of secession (or not) is the simple comparison, but the sets of baggage are too dissimilar to validate a direct comparison. Just one item in this baggage is the historical notion of nationhood. Scotland was once a country in its own right. Catalonia never has been, despite what some nationalists would contest to the contrary. The competing legalities of asking the people to decide are indicative of these two sets of baggage. One, Scotland, was predicated on the principle that union is not inviolate. Where the Rajoy administration is concerned, union is inviolate.
Comparisons are more meaningful in that both Scotland and Catalonia have involved miscalculations and misjudgments and that both have subscribed to an adaptation of Denis Healey's first law of holes. "If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging." This is a well-enough understood principle - the deeper you find yourself, the more difficult it is to get out.
Did Salmond ever really want an independence vote? Or did he only really want greater autonomy? When the suggestion of an arrangement akin to that which the Basque Country enjoys in Spain was rejected, he found his options to be limited. His independence gambit might now be deemed to have been a miscalculation, but David Cameron's gambit certainly was. Cameron appeared to believe that the referendum would resoundingly and once and for all kick the notion of independence into grass longer than that to be found in the rough on a Scottish links golf course. He very nearly paid for this miscalculation.
Though Salmond's desire for independence may all along have been equivocal, his head and his heart came to rule. It was independence or nothing, albeit that he may have been placed deeper in the hole through Cameron's bluff.
Artur Mas, unlike Salmond, has faced no such bluff. He has plunged into a hole entirely of his own making and has discovered that a force over which he has no control has rewired a calculating head not untypical of a technocrat and has defrosted a heart of independentist frigidity. Salmond outed himself as an independentist because his public political image demanded nothing less and because he had several years ago placed a train on the tracks that was impossible to derail. Mas, a closet independentist at most, has arrived at the point of sanctioning an act of illegality - the consultation - because of a miscalculation which outed his reluctance and because of his inability to get out of the hole that he has dug.
Almost two years ago, Mas called an election in Catalonia. At that time he was experiencing a decline in popularity because of austerity measures that his government had introduced. In September 2012, there had been a massive pro-independence rally on Catalonia Day. Mas took this as a signal to attempt to boost his flagging popularity with an implication of playing an independence card that he didn't believe in. This was his miscalculation. He hadn't expected the result of the election. His party, the CiU, lost seats and lost its overall majority. Mas had been rumbled by the electorate. It was impossible for him to renege on independence, because he was forced to make a pact with the pro-independence left-wing in order to form a government. Ever since, he has been cast in a role of populist that does not fit him in the way that it fitted Salmond very well.
What Mas really wanted was a better financial deal for Catalonia. Like Salmond, he eyed up the arrangement that the Basques have. Through the peculiarities of history, the Basques have tax-raising powers that nowhere else in Spain does, with the exception of Navarre. Rajoy wouldn't agree to such an arrangement, just as Cameron wouldn't. The roads to independence referenda were thus paved in a similar fashion - with the gold of prospective tax revenues.
Rajoy will continue to do all that he can to prevent a Catalonian independence vote, but though he will cite the law and the Constitution, he has to be aware of a dynamic which Cameron is only now appreciating. Centralised government - and Rajoy is a centraliser both by act and by instinct - is increasingly being rejected and not just in the UK or in Spain. Catalonia will not get its independence, but, and like Scotland, it has to be given greater control of its own affairs. And that, ultimately, is what both Mas and Salmond have wanted.
Comparisons between Scotland and Catalonia are both relevant and irrelevant. An act of secession (or not) is the simple comparison, but the sets of baggage are too dissimilar to validate a direct comparison. Just one item in this baggage is the historical notion of nationhood. Scotland was once a country in its own right. Catalonia never has been, despite what some nationalists would contest to the contrary. The competing legalities of asking the people to decide are indicative of these two sets of baggage. One, Scotland, was predicated on the principle that union is not inviolate. Where the Rajoy administration is concerned, union is inviolate.
Comparisons are more meaningful in that both Scotland and Catalonia have involved miscalculations and misjudgments and that both have subscribed to an adaptation of Denis Healey's first law of holes. "If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging." This is a well-enough understood principle - the deeper you find yourself, the more difficult it is to get out.
Did Salmond ever really want an independence vote? Or did he only really want greater autonomy? When the suggestion of an arrangement akin to that which the Basque Country enjoys in Spain was rejected, he found his options to be limited. His independence gambit might now be deemed to have been a miscalculation, but David Cameron's gambit certainly was. Cameron appeared to believe that the referendum would resoundingly and once and for all kick the notion of independence into grass longer than that to be found in the rough on a Scottish links golf course. He very nearly paid for this miscalculation.
Though Salmond's desire for independence may all along have been equivocal, his head and his heart came to rule. It was independence or nothing, albeit that he may have been placed deeper in the hole through Cameron's bluff.
Artur Mas, unlike Salmond, has faced no such bluff. He has plunged into a hole entirely of his own making and has discovered that a force over which he has no control has rewired a calculating head not untypical of a technocrat and has defrosted a heart of independentist frigidity. Salmond outed himself as an independentist because his public political image demanded nothing less and because he had several years ago placed a train on the tracks that was impossible to derail. Mas, a closet independentist at most, has arrived at the point of sanctioning an act of illegality - the consultation - because of a miscalculation which outed his reluctance and because of his inability to get out of the hole that he has dug.
Almost two years ago, Mas called an election in Catalonia. At that time he was experiencing a decline in popularity because of austerity measures that his government had introduced. In September 2012, there had been a massive pro-independence rally on Catalonia Day. Mas took this as a signal to attempt to boost his flagging popularity with an implication of playing an independence card that he didn't believe in. This was his miscalculation. He hadn't expected the result of the election. His party, the CiU, lost seats and lost its overall majority. Mas had been rumbled by the electorate. It was impossible for him to renege on independence, because he was forced to make a pact with the pro-independence left-wing in order to form a government. Ever since, he has been cast in a role of populist that does not fit him in the way that it fitted Salmond very well.
What Mas really wanted was a better financial deal for Catalonia. Like Salmond, he eyed up the arrangement that the Basques have. Through the peculiarities of history, the Basques have tax-raising powers that nowhere else in Spain does, with the exception of Navarre. Rajoy wouldn't agree to such an arrangement, just as Cameron wouldn't. The roads to independence referenda were thus paved in a similar fashion - with the gold of prospective tax revenues.
Rajoy will continue to do all that he can to prevent a Catalonian independence vote, but though he will cite the law and the Constitution, he has to be aware of a dynamic which Cameron is only now appreciating. Centralised government - and Rajoy is a centraliser both by act and by instinct - is increasingly being rejected and not just in the UK or in Spain. Catalonia will not get its independence, but, and like Scotland, it has to be given greater control of its own affairs. And that, ultimately, is what both Mas and Salmond have wanted.
Friday, December 13, 2013
9/11 In A Catalonian Style
9/11 is about to take on a new relevance. The Spanish love of reducing dates to numbers and/or letters will mean that 9 November is suitably abbreviated. It may be 9-N but 9/11 might, for its potentially seismic consequences, be more appropriate. The president of Catalonia, Artur Mas, has announced that on 9 November next year, there will be a referendum on independence. There will be two questions posed. Do you want Catalonia to become a state? Do you want this state to be independent? Yes or no?
Mas, whose party is the CiU, has been supported in the referendum call by a rag-bag of other parties which represent varying shades of the left and Catalonian nationalism. One of these, the ERC (Republican Left of Catalonia), became a significant force in Catalonia following elections last year. Mas, who thought he was going to enjoy an increased majority for the CiU, misinterpreted a massive demonstration in Barcelona in favour of independence. This wasn't, as things turned out at the polls, necessarily an expression in favour of the CiU leading the march to independence. The CiU lost twelve seats and had to cast around for a partner. It found one in the ERC. In so doing, any possibility that there might have been of Mas, whose party isn't radical, adopting a more softly-softly approach on independence was blown out of the water. The ERC is a fervently pro-independence party. Mas was left with little option but to go full steam ahead on independence, even if there are plenty of commentators who would argue that he has never really been in favour of it and still isn't.
There is by no means total political support for the referendum among Catalonia's numerous political parties. The third strongest party, PSC, the Catalonian branch of the PSOE socialists, is against it. As are the fourth strongest PPC and the sixth strongest C's. Yes, there really are a lot of political parties in Catalonia. Pere Navarro, who is the leader of the PSC, has urged that there be dialogue and negotiations with Madrid and that there is also a dispensing with constantly looking to the past.
But it is this past which forever catches up with politics of a Catalan nature, be the location Mallorca or Catalonia. Navarro has avoided attending a symposium called "Spain against Catalonia: an historical look (1714-2014)". The implication of the symposium's purpose is clear. 1714 marked the start of Catalan repression under King Philip V after the fall of Barcelona in that year which brought to a close the War of the Spanish Succession. Catalonia was never the same again.
Navarro has made a plea for history to be something for historians, but it is a forlorn hope to believe that the past will be consigned to history. 1714 and subsequent repressions make this impossible and so colour the present day and present-day politics.
It has to be remembered, though, how the latest move towards independence came about. It was because Mas failed to secure any change to Catalonia's financing, a change which would have meant it keeping more of the revenues it raised which are then handed over to Madrid. As Mariano Rajoy was not interested in perhaps granting Catalonia a similar status to that of the Basque Country and Navarre (the regions which keep tax revenues but hand over instead what is almost like a management fee to national government), Mas opted to play the independence card. And this has brought us therefore to the 9/11 announcement.
There is of course one major problem with the referendum. It wouldn't be legal, and Spain's Justice Minister has said that it will not be held. But what if it were to be or were to be going to be? What would happen? Rajoy has made some dark mutterings about doing anything to prevent the referendum occurring. Anything?
If Mas had hoped that pressing for independence would extract some changes from Madrid, he has thus far been disappointed. And now that the date has been set, even were Madrid to offer discussions on financing (with a genuine aim to changing it), it is hard to see how the date could be un-set. Mas is in too deep.
The timing of the referendum may well have in mind the independence referendum in Scotland shortly before. If there were a rejection of independence by the Scots, this might influence how the Catalonia referendum would go (polls tend to suggest there is a pretty even split between those for or against independence). Inevitably, there will be, as there already have been, comparisons between the Catalonian and Scottish votes, but there is one very big difference. One is sanctioned, the other isn't. If Catalonia were to vote in favour of independence, assuming it is able to, then things could get rather difficult.
Mas, whose party is the CiU, has been supported in the referendum call by a rag-bag of other parties which represent varying shades of the left and Catalonian nationalism. One of these, the ERC (Republican Left of Catalonia), became a significant force in Catalonia following elections last year. Mas, who thought he was going to enjoy an increased majority for the CiU, misinterpreted a massive demonstration in Barcelona in favour of independence. This wasn't, as things turned out at the polls, necessarily an expression in favour of the CiU leading the march to independence. The CiU lost twelve seats and had to cast around for a partner. It found one in the ERC. In so doing, any possibility that there might have been of Mas, whose party isn't radical, adopting a more softly-softly approach on independence was blown out of the water. The ERC is a fervently pro-independence party. Mas was left with little option but to go full steam ahead on independence, even if there are plenty of commentators who would argue that he has never really been in favour of it and still isn't.
There is by no means total political support for the referendum among Catalonia's numerous political parties. The third strongest party, PSC, the Catalonian branch of the PSOE socialists, is against it. As are the fourth strongest PPC and the sixth strongest C's. Yes, there really are a lot of political parties in Catalonia. Pere Navarro, who is the leader of the PSC, has urged that there be dialogue and negotiations with Madrid and that there is also a dispensing with constantly looking to the past.
But it is this past which forever catches up with politics of a Catalan nature, be the location Mallorca or Catalonia. Navarro has avoided attending a symposium called "Spain against Catalonia: an historical look (1714-2014)". The implication of the symposium's purpose is clear. 1714 marked the start of Catalan repression under King Philip V after the fall of Barcelona in that year which brought to a close the War of the Spanish Succession. Catalonia was never the same again.
Navarro has made a plea for history to be something for historians, but it is a forlorn hope to believe that the past will be consigned to history. 1714 and subsequent repressions make this impossible and so colour the present day and present-day politics.
It has to be remembered, though, how the latest move towards independence came about. It was because Mas failed to secure any change to Catalonia's financing, a change which would have meant it keeping more of the revenues it raised which are then handed over to Madrid. As Mariano Rajoy was not interested in perhaps granting Catalonia a similar status to that of the Basque Country and Navarre (the regions which keep tax revenues but hand over instead what is almost like a management fee to national government), Mas opted to play the independence card. And this has brought us therefore to the 9/11 announcement.
There is of course one major problem with the referendum. It wouldn't be legal, and Spain's Justice Minister has said that it will not be held. But what if it were to be or were to be going to be? What would happen? Rajoy has made some dark mutterings about doing anything to prevent the referendum occurring. Anything?
If Mas had hoped that pressing for independence would extract some changes from Madrid, he has thus far been disappointed. And now that the date has been set, even were Madrid to offer discussions on financing (with a genuine aim to changing it), it is hard to see how the date could be un-set. Mas is in too deep.
The timing of the referendum may well have in mind the independence referendum in Scotland shortly before. If there were a rejection of independence by the Scots, this might influence how the Catalonia referendum would go (polls tend to suggest there is a pretty even split between those for or against independence). Inevitably, there will be, as there already have been, comparisons between the Catalonian and Scottish votes, but there is one very big difference. One is sanctioned, the other isn't. If Catalonia were to vote in favour of independence, assuming it is able to, then things could get rather difficult.
Friday, September 13, 2013
Weakening The Links In The Chain: Catalonia
José Manuel García Margallo is not Britain's favourite Spanish politician. He is not the favourite Spanish politician of the people of Gibraltar. He is, you may know, the Spanish minister for foreign affairs. It was he, among the Spanish Government, who really kicked things off in Gibraltar.
Margallo, so suggests the newspaper "El País", is the least diplomatic of all the ministers in the Spanish Government. Diplomacy, you might have thought, would be useful for a foreign minister, but Margallo, where Gibraltar was concerned, went tramping in with heavy and distinctly undiplomatic boots. The government's boot boy, putting an end to the party on the Peñón.
A line of argument that has been used against Margallo is that Spain has its own territorial issues, not simply those in Africa but also in Spain itself. One of them is Catalonia, and there have been many Catalan voices raised in support of Gibraltar's rejection of Spanish claims to the rock.
On Wednesday, Catalonia celebrated its national day. Describing this as "national" is somewhat misleading. There is no Catalonian nation, only that which exists as an abstract concept and an ideal for many a Catalonian who has learned from history that there once used to be something approximating a Catalonian nation. Many Catalonians, at least 400,000, joined a human chain that stretched some 400 kilometres from the French border to Tarragona. This was the highlight of the day's celebration. Its purpose? To demonstrate solidarity with the call for Catalonian independence.
It was a hugely impressive display, reminiscent of the chain formed by people in the Baltic states who demanded independence from the Soviet Union in 1989. You cannot simply ignore 400,000 people. Margallo, to his credit, hasn't ignored them. Indeed, Margallo, perhaps because he is undiplomatic, has been honest about the demonstration. He was worried and saddened by it, but he has admitted that it was a success in terms of its organisation, logistics and communication. In other words, he has appreciated that the people of Catalonia can be mobilised to show their support for independence.
The figure of 400,000 may well have been considerably higher, but then these figures are always open to question, but if one accepts the 400,000, it was actually lower than the lowest figure given for the national day demonstration in Barcelona last year. That was 600,000, though it was probably (and reasonably accurately) around one million.
So in fact, one could argue that there has been a fall in support for independence. Measured in terms of actual bodies, maybe, but the figures may not reflect sentiment as a whole. Which is something to which government vice-president Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría has alluded. The government will listen to everyone, including the silent majority. She has implied, therefore, that the weight of support for independence as shown on the streets is not matched off of the streets.
After last year's demonstration Mariano Rajoy's reaction was to blather on about the constitution and to seemingly pay no attention to the masses protesting. Santamaría has at least acknowledged their presence on the streets this year, but Margallo, undiplomatic Margallo, has gone very much further. The people on the streets have to be listened to, and he has proposed that there be a reflection not just about the situation in Catalonia but about territorial organisation in Spain as a whole. It is an extraordinary suggestion for a Partido Popular politician to make, as it implies a diminution of nationalism, and the PP has always been wedded to the notion of the Spanish nation without exception.
In addition to recognising Catalonia's language and culture, Margallo has indicated he would be in favour of changes to Catalonia's financing, which was really the cause of the recent clamour for a referendum on independence. He has also suggested that there be fewer limits on responsibilities of regional administrations, so not just Catalonia's. He has, in one intervention, turned PP attitudes towards the regions on their head.
The question is does he speak for the government or is he just wildly off-message? If it's the former, then something truly remarkable is going on, and it may be that something is going on. Artur Mas, the president of Catalonia, wants to put back any referendum to 2016. It had been promised for next year. It is still, strictly speaking, illegal to hold a referendum, but Mas has been talking with Rajoy. His delay of the referendum has been greeted with disgust by the left who keep him in power, but it could just be that a major reform of the state's relationship with Catalonia and the other regions is on the cards; a reform that would, it might be hoped, kill off calls for independence.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Margallo, so suggests the newspaper "El País", is the least diplomatic of all the ministers in the Spanish Government. Diplomacy, you might have thought, would be useful for a foreign minister, but Margallo, where Gibraltar was concerned, went tramping in with heavy and distinctly undiplomatic boots. The government's boot boy, putting an end to the party on the Peñón.
A line of argument that has been used against Margallo is that Spain has its own territorial issues, not simply those in Africa but also in Spain itself. One of them is Catalonia, and there have been many Catalan voices raised in support of Gibraltar's rejection of Spanish claims to the rock.
On Wednesday, Catalonia celebrated its national day. Describing this as "national" is somewhat misleading. There is no Catalonian nation, only that which exists as an abstract concept and an ideal for many a Catalonian who has learned from history that there once used to be something approximating a Catalonian nation. Many Catalonians, at least 400,000, joined a human chain that stretched some 400 kilometres from the French border to Tarragona. This was the highlight of the day's celebration. Its purpose? To demonstrate solidarity with the call for Catalonian independence.
It was a hugely impressive display, reminiscent of the chain formed by people in the Baltic states who demanded independence from the Soviet Union in 1989. You cannot simply ignore 400,000 people. Margallo, to his credit, hasn't ignored them. Indeed, Margallo, perhaps because he is undiplomatic, has been honest about the demonstration. He was worried and saddened by it, but he has admitted that it was a success in terms of its organisation, logistics and communication. In other words, he has appreciated that the people of Catalonia can be mobilised to show their support for independence.
The figure of 400,000 may well have been considerably higher, but then these figures are always open to question, but if one accepts the 400,000, it was actually lower than the lowest figure given for the national day demonstration in Barcelona last year. That was 600,000, though it was probably (and reasonably accurately) around one million.
So in fact, one could argue that there has been a fall in support for independence. Measured in terms of actual bodies, maybe, but the figures may not reflect sentiment as a whole. Which is something to which government vice-president Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría has alluded. The government will listen to everyone, including the silent majority. She has implied, therefore, that the weight of support for independence as shown on the streets is not matched off of the streets.
After last year's demonstration Mariano Rajoy's reaction was to blather on about the constitution and to seemingly pay no attention to the masses protesting. Santamaría has at least acknowledged their presence on the streets this year, but Margallo, undiplomatic Margallo, has gone very much further. The people on the streets have to be listened to, and he has proposed that there be a reflection not just about the situation in Catalonia but about territorial organisation in Spain as a whole. It is an extraordinary suggestion for a Partido Popular politician to make, as it implies a diminution of nationalism, and the PP has always been wedded to the notion of the Spanish nation without exception.
In addition to recognising Catalonia's language and culture, Margallo has indicated he would be in favour of changes to Catalonia's financing, which was really the cause of the recent clamour for a referendum on independence. He has also suggested that there be fewer limits on responsibilities of regional administrations, so not just Catalonia's. He has, in one intervention, turned PP attitudes towards the regions on their head.
The question is does he speak for the government or is he just wildly off-message? If it's the former, then something truly remarkable is going on, and it may be that something is going on. Artur Mas, the president of Catalonia, wants to put back any referendum to 2016. It had been promised for next year. It is still, strictly speaking, illegal to hold a referendum, but Mas has been talking with Rajoy. His delay of the referendum has been greeted with disgust by the left who keep him in power, but it could just be that a major reform of the state's relationship with Catalonia and the other regions is on the cards; a reform that would, it might be hoped, kill off calls for independence.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Wednesday, May 01, 2013
Tip Top Diplo Cat: Catalonian independence
"Diplo Cat, the most separational Diplo Cat, whose independentist close friends get to goad on D.C., providing it's without Hispanicity. Diplo Cat, the independentist leader of the gang, he's the boss, he's the dip, he has the presidentship, he's the most tip top Diplo Cat!"
Diplo Cat, who bears a striking resemblance to Artur Mas, the president of Catalonia, has gathered the members of his gang to discuss their most audacious scheme yet. Independence. Benny the Ball is to be placed in charge of fundraising - from local government administrations across Catalonia. Choo-Choo, when not falling for a passing supermodel or having allegations made about him as to Swiss bank accounts, is to co-ordinate efforts in Catalonia's 30-plus commercial missions and five political delegations across the world. Brain is to be the mastermind behind the network of amateur volunteers who will take the Catalonian message of independence to a wider world. The scheme seems a good one, but Diplo Cat knows that Officer Dibble, who may on the face of it appear to be ineffectual and to have a face not dissimilar to the prime minister of Spain, is on his case. Will Diplo Cat and his gang get their way, or will, as usual, Benny's naïveté, Choo-Choo's insatiable appetite for a life of luxury and Brain's outright stupidity see them all return to the alleys of Barcelona to lick their wounds and contemplate how they might otherwise tackle Catalonia's enormous fiscal deficit?
"Top Cat" was my favourite cartoon. Much as I always of course wanted T.C. to get one over on Officer Dibble, I couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for the hapless cop. There is a part of me which feels sorry for my Diplo Cat real-life Dibble. Mariano Rajoy carries the weight of the world on his shoulders. If there is a more miserable-looking national leader anywhere, I would be surprised. There he is, trying and failing to get to terms with Spain's economy, and what else is he faced with? Catalonia's Top Cat and his drive towards independence. Diplocat is the name that has been given to the network which the Catalonians have devised to get the point across about the vision for independence that T.C. (Artur Mas) and his fellows have.
The Diplocat effort draws, you won't be surprised, on new media. As an example of its reach, it has 713 people who like its CatalansUK Facebook page. There is also a website dedicated to the Diplocat effort in the UK. Catalansuk.com. Conveniently, it is in English. (A note to those in Mallorca who reject trilingual education: when it comes to communicating with the great wide world, it does help to use a language spoken by rather more than the nine million or so Catalan speakers.) The stat for this number of speakers is just one thing you will find in a clearly set-out explanation as to why Catalonia wants to hold a referendum which might lead to it becoming an independent state. It is, naturally enough, somewhat biased, but you probably won't find a better explanation.
Diplocat is a quite extraordinary phenomenon. It is extraordinary that Catalonia has, and therefore funds, quite so many missions and delegations across the world as it is. For a region of Spain, it has been organising itself as a quasi-separate entity for some time. The use of the internet to carry the message of independence certainly gives this message far greater potency than might otherwise have been the case, but will Diplocat succeed in being anything other than a scheme destined to fail from the outset, one that would see my Diplo Cat and his friends sent scurrying for cover and rethinking their strategy?
Mas made a miscalculation when he mistook a million more people protesting on the streets of Barcelona as the green light for an election which was a sort of pre-referendum referendum. He came unstuck and lost some parliamentary ground. The drive towards independence, in its current guise, came as a result of a failure to renegotiate the fiscal pact between Catalonia and Madrid. As ever, things come down to money. And for the Catalonian electorate, they came down to the economy and jobs. They didn't necessarily come down to Mas's wish for independence.
Nevertheless, the CatalansUK document ends by referring to polls which suggest that there would be a vote in favour of independence. Maybe this would be borne out by a referendum. Or maybe it wouldn't be. One way or the other, we are going to find out in the not too distant future whether Mas will remain the most tip top Diplo Cat.
* http://www.catalansuk.com/news/42/diplocat-catalan-diplomacy-abroad
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Diplo Cat, who bears a striking resemblance to Artur Mas, the president of Catalonia, has gathered the members of his gang to discuss their most audacious scheme yet. Independence. Benny the Ball is to be placed in charge of fundraising - from local government administrations across Catalonia. Choo-Choo, when not falling for a passing supermodel or having allegations made about him as to Swiss bank accounts, is to co-ordinate efforts in Catalonia's 30-plus commercial missions and five political delegations across the world. Brain is to be the mastermind behind the network of amateur volunteers who will take the Catalonian message of independence to a wider world. The scheme seems a good one, but Diplo Cat knows that Officer Dibble, who may on the face of it appear to be ineffectual and to have a face not dissimilar to the prime minister of Spain, is on his case. Will Diplo Cat and his gang get their way, or will, as usual, Benny's naïveté, Choo-Choo's insatiable appetite for a life of luxury and Brain's outright stupidity see them all return to the alleys of Barcelona to lick their wounds and contemplate how they might otherwise tackle Catalonia's enormous fiscal deficit?
"Top Cat" was my favourite cartoon. Much as I always of course wanted T.C. to get one over on Officer Dibble, I couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for the hapless cop. There is a part of me which feels sorry for my Diplo Cat real-life Dibble. Mariano Rajoy carries the weight of the world on his shoulders. If there is a more miserable-looking national leader anywhere, I would be surprised. There he is, trying and failing to get to terms with Spain's economy, and what else is he faced with? Catalonia's Top Cat and his drive towards independence. Diplocat is the name that has been given to the network which the Catalonians have devised to get the point across about the vision for independence that T.C. (Artur Mas) and his fellows have.
The Diplocat effort draws, you won't be surprised, on new media. As an example of its reach, it has 713 people who like its CatalansUK Facebook page. There is also a website dedicated to the Diplocat effort in the UK. Catalansuk.com. Conveniently, it is in English. (A note to those in Mallorca who reject trilingual education: when it comes to communicating with the great wide world, it does help to use a language spoken by rather more than the nine million or so Catalan speakers.) The stat for this number of speakers is just one thing you will find in a clearly set-out explanation as to why Catalonia wants to hold a referendum which might lead to it becoming an independent state. It is, naturally enough, somewhat biased, but you probably won't find a better explanation.
Diplocat is a quite extraordinary phenomenon. It is extraordinary that Catalonia has, and therefore funds, quite so many missions and delegations across the world as it is. For a region of Spain, it has been organising itself as a quasi-separate entity for some time. The use of the internet to carry the message of independence certainly gives this message far greater potency than might otherwise have been the case, but will Diplocat succeed in being anything other than a scheme destined to fail from the outset, one that would see my Diplo Cat and his friends sent scurrying for cover and rethinking their strategy?
Mas made a miscalculation when he mistook a million more people protesting on the streets of Barcelona as the green light for an election which was a sort of pre-referendum referendum. He came unstuck and lost some parliamentary ground. The drive towards independence, in its current guise, came as a result of a failure to renegotiate the fiscal pact between Catalonia and Madrid. As ever, things come down to money. And for the Catalonian electorate, they came down to the economy and jobs. They didn't necessarily come down to Mas's wish for independence.
Nevertheless, the CatalansUK document ends by referring to polls which suggest that there would be a vote in favour of independence. Maybe this would be borne out by a referendum. Or maybe it wouldn't be. One way or the other, we are going to find out in the not too distant future whether Mas will remain the most tip top Diplo Cat.
* http://www.catalansuk.com/news/42/diplocat-catalan-diplomacy-abroad
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Friday, January 11, 2013
Pronouncements: Spain's military should keep quiet
Pedro Morenes' observations regarding the military - its preparedness and its not reacting to absurd provocations - were deliberately vague. But vagueness demands that meaning is sought. And the Catalonians and Basques have taken the vagueness to mean them. A defence minister would be expected to speak positively about the military, but Morenes' veiled comments have been interpreted as a veiled threat.
A national politician can't - or you wouldn't think he could - specifically refer to military action of a domestic nature, but there has not been such reticence within military circles. There has been the example of Colonel Castro, who has stated the case for military intervention in the event of independence by Catalonia. If Morenes was indeed implying the same thing, then it is fair to ask whether his observations represent an alignment with the military - or elements within it, because Castro is well to the right - and as to who exactly might be setting the agenda. Is the military tail wagging the government dog, or is it the other way round? Whichever way round it is, Morenes and parts of the military will have taken note of what Mariano Rajoy had to say last year about upholding the Constitution if necessary. The "if necessary" was loaded with its own euphemistic vagueness.
The role of the military in today's Spain is an oddity. Theoretically, its role was diminished under the Constitution, and so a culture of militarism that had existed for decades and also the military's means of affecting the political process were removed. Historically, it had been the military, through the "pronunciamiento" - an officers' insurrection - which had brought about change to the political landscape. This all became firmly a thing of the past once democracy arrived.
Nevertheless, the military seems to still cling to these old days. You wouldn't have thought that a Colonel Castro could make the sort of comments that he has. And nor would you have thought that he could get away with them. But he appears to have, the Partido Popular excusing them on the grounds that they were personal opinion, a position contrary to that of the former Zapatero regime, which put General Mena under house arrest for daring to suggest something similar.
It isn't the case that parts of the military align themselves solely with the principles of Spanish nationhood and with the defence of the Kingdom of Spain. Again historically, the military didn't always see the nation and the monarchy as meaning the same thing. Franco certainly didn't. He was quite content for Alfonso to be in exile at the time of the Civil War and to overlook his successor, the current King's father. And there have also been elements of the military which have had an ideologically different position to that of Franco's: a Republican ideology.
There is one military Republican who is today commanding a good deal of attention. He is Colonel Amadeo Martínez Inglés, and he faces the prospect (remote, one would imagine) of being sent to prison for 15 years. His alleged crime? He has "injured" the crown. In other words, he has insulted King Juan-Carlos. Among various things of which the Colonel has accused the King, there is the small matter of the King himself having been behind the 1981 coup attempt.
What is attracting particular interest as a result of the Colonel's appearance at the High Court to face his charges is the law under which he has been charged. It is one that the European Court of Human Rights quashed, yet it has been reactivated in the case of Colonel Martínez, despite the European Court having made clear that the law went against the principle of freedom of speech.
The Colonel is insisting that certain witnesses are brought to testify, including Antonio Tejero, the officer remembered as the one who waved the gun around in parliament during the failed coup. He has also stated that he is in favour of the Catalonian wish for a referendum on independence. So in every possible way, he is the complete antithesis of what might be thought to be a typical Spanish military figure.
Considered a nutter by the right-wing, there are serious issues that his case throws up. One is the use of the law limiting freedom of speech. Another is that, for all he has become the darling of Catalanist and Republican supporters, he is from the military (albeit that he has retired). Like Colonel Castro and General Mena, it might be wiser were these military figures to keep quiet; freedom of speech or not. By making pronouncements, they are echoing the past, one that many would prefer was finally laid to rest. A pronouncement bears great similarity with "pronunciamiento".
* I acknowledge Alan Murphy's article about Colonel Martínez Inglés from Iberosphere - http://iberosphere.com/2013/01/spain-news-martinez-ingles-7709/7709
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
A national politician can't - or you wouldn't think he could - specifically refer to military action of a domestic nature, but there has not been such reticence within military circles. There has been the example of Colonel Castro, who has stated the case for military intervention in the event of independence by Catalonia. If Morenes was indeed implying the same thing, then it is fair to ask whether his observations represent an alignment with the military - or elements within it, because Castro is well to the right - and as to who exactly might be setting the agenda. Is the military tail wagging the government dog, or is it the other way round? Whichever way round it is, Morenes and parts of the military will have taken note of what Mariano Rajoy had to say last year about upholding the Constitution if necessary. The "if necessary" was loaded with its own euphemistic vagueness.
The role of the military in today's Spain is an oddity. Theoretically, its role was diminished under the Constitution, and so a culture of militarism that had existed for decades and also the military's means of affecting the political process were removed. Historically, it had been the military, through the "pronunciamiento" - an officers' insurrection - which had brought about change to the political landscape. This all became firmly a thing of the past once democracy arrived.
Nevertheless, the military seems to still cling to these old days. You wouldn't have thought that a Colonel Castro could make the sort of comments that he has. And nor would you have thought that he could get away with them. But he appears to have, the Partido Popular excusing them on the grounds that they were personal opinion, a position contrary to that of the former Zapatero regime, which put General Mena under house arrest for daring to suggest something similar.
It isn't the case that parts of the military align themselves solely with the principles of Spanish nationhood and with the defence of the Kingdom of Spain. Again historically, the military didn't always see the nation and the monarchy as meaning the same thing. Franco certainly didn't. He was quite content for Alfonso to be in exile at the time of the Civil War and to overlook his successor, the current King's father. And there have also been elements of the military which have had an ideologically different position to that of Franco's: a Republican ideology.
There is one military Republican who is today commanding a good deal of attention. He is Colonel Amadeo Martínez Inglés, and he faces the prospect (remote, one would imagine) of being sent to prison for 15 years. His alleged crime? He has "injured" the crown. In other words, he has insulted King Juan-Carlos. Among various things of which the Colonel has accused the King, there is the small matter of the King himself having been behind the 1981 coup attempt.
What is attracting particular interest as a result of the Colonel's appearance at the High Court to face his charges is the law under which he has been charged. It is one that the European Court of Human Rights quashed, yet it has been reactivated in the case of Colonel Martínez, despite the European Court having made clear that the law went against the principle of freedom of speech.
The Colonel is insisting that certain witnesses are brought to testify, including Antonio Tejero, the officer remembered as the one who waved the gun around in parliament during the failed coup. He has also stated that he is in favour of the Catalonian wish for a referendum on independence. So in every possible way, he is the complete antithesis of what might be thought to be a typical Spanish military figure.
Considered a nutter by the right-wing, there are serious issues that his case throws up. One is the use of the law limiting freedom of speech. Another is that, for all he has become the darling of Catalanist and Republican supporters, he is from the military (albeit that he has retired). Like Colonel Castro and General Mena, it might be wiser were these military figures to keep quiet; freedom of speech or not. By making pronouncements, they are echoing the past, one that many would prefer was finally laid to rest. A pronouncement bears great similarity with "pronunciamiento".
* I acknowledge Alan Murphy's article about Colonel Martínez Inglés from Iberosphere - http://iberosphere.com/2013/01/spain-news-martinez-ingles-7709/7709
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Another Fine Mas: After the election
You will recall that photo of President Obama, Hillary Clinton and various other voyeurs in the White House "situation room" watching the last moments of Osama bin Laden. It wasn't quite the same, in that no one actually got topped, but there was a similar gathering of Balearics politico voyeurs to watch the last moments of Artur Mas's political suicide attempt in Catalonia at the weekend. There, in their midst, was Jolly Joe Bauzà in a PP "situation room". Mission accomplished, they would have thought.
Would they have been right to have thought this? A combination of media slur and central government PP insinuations had undermined Mas. Which is what they would have hoped, though whether the accusations about Mas, kickbacks and Swiss bank accounts really had anything to do with the Catalonia election result is very debatable.
Bauzà rejoiced in good Thatcher-recapture-of-South-Georgia style. The Catalonian people have rejected independence, he rejoiced, failing entirely to appreciate that the Catalonian people hadn't rejected independence. What they had done was to suggest that they might quite like independence at some future date but that they didn't necessarily want Artur leading the charge.
No one foresaw what happened at the polling stations on Sunday. It had been forecast Mas's CiU wouldn't get an absolute majority but it had not been forecast that the CiU would lose seats. Or in quite the number that it did. Twelve fewer than it had before the election, Artur and the CiU are in a real pickle.
Mas has said that he will not resign but he should resign. He made a colossal error of judgement. He took the huge pro-independence rally in Barcelona in September as the indication that he could call an election and get a ringing endorsement from all this pro-independence sentiment that would enable him to set the independence ball rolling. His error was in believing that this pro-independence sentiment wanted him to be the ball roller.
What was being overlooked in the run-up to the Catalonia election was the fact that it was an election, not a vote on independence. Granted, independence and a mandate to press for it were the reasons for calling the election, but elections are rarely only concerned with one issue. Artur knew full well that his austerity measures, ones which, in conditions of normal political harmony, would have Mariano Rajoy voicing support for the Catalonians, were not playing terribly well with the Catalan citizenship. The independence gambit was, therefore, his way of seeking to regain popular support. Or so he must have thought. This was his error, however. He, too, forgot that elections are about more than one issue. Or that elections are often about one other issue - it's the economy, stupid. The CiU took an unexpected beating at the polls which should in fact have been expected. Mas committed suicide because he overlooked the small matters of the economy and his austerity measures.
Now he finds himself having to form a coalition with very unlikely bedfellows. There are two main options - the ERC (the Catalan Republican Left) or the PSC (the Catalonian version of the PSOE socialists). The ERC are fervent independentists. The PSC aren't. Like PSOE nationally, they don't approve of separatism. For the right-leaning, conservative Catholic CiU neither option is particularly attractive. Where the economy is concerned, the PSC would probably make greater sense as a coalition partner, but if this is the option Mas were to follow, the independence issue would be dead and buried (for now), thus provoking the obvious question as to why Mas ever bothered raising it.
But the independence issue will not go away. Bauzà is completely wrong in his analysis because not only have the ERC gained significantly, a party that had never previously had parliamentary representation, the anti-capitalist CUP, now has three seats. Mas may have been right about the sentiment for independence, but he most certainly hadn't bargained on the electorate actually voting for parties for whom independence is pretty much their only reason for being.
The belief is that Mas will press ahead towards a referendum with the ERC by his side. If anything, the election will cause a greater entrenching of views. There was just a possibility that Rajoy might have responded by revisiting the Catalonian request for tax-raising powers (the rejection of which kicked off the momentum towards independence), but one feels that this is now impossible. While pro-Spanish unity politicians like the Balearics president might think that mission was accomplished on Sunday, he is very wrong. It was a botched job and one that has made the situation potentially more volatile than it was.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Would they have been right to have thought this? A combination of media slur and central government PP insinuations had undermined Mas. Which is what they would have hoped, though whether the accusations about Mas, kickbacks and Swiss bank accounts really had anything to do with the Catalonia election result is very debatable.
Bauzà rejoiced in good Thatcher-recapture-of-South-Georgia style. The Catalonian people have rejected independence, he rejoiced, failing entirely to appreciate that the Catalonian people hadn't rejected independence. What they had done was to suggest that they might quite like independence at some future date but that they didn't necessarily want Artur leading the charge.
No one foresaw what happened at the polling stations on Sunday. It had been forecast Mas's CiU wouldn't get an absolute majority but it had not been forecast that the CiU would lose seats. Or in quite the number that it did. Twelve fewer than it had before the election, Artur and the CiU are in a real pickle.
Mas has said that he will not resign but he should resign. He made a colossal error of judgement. He took the huge pro-independence rally in Barcelona in September as the indication that he could call an election and get a ringing endorsement from all this pro-independence sentiment that would enable him to set the independence ball rolling. His error was in believing that this pro-independence sentiment wanted him to be the ball roller.
What was being overlooked in the run-up to the Catalonia election was the fact that it was an election, not a vote on independence. Granted, independence and a mandate to press for it were the reasons for calling the election, but elections are rarely only concerned with one issue. Artur knew full well that his austerity measures, ones which, in conditions of normal political harmony, would have Mariano Rajoy voicing support for the Catalonians, were not playing terribly well with the Catalan citizenship. The independence gambit was, therefore, his way of seeking to regain popular support. Or so he must have thought. This was his error, however. He, too, forgot that elections are about more than one issue. Or that elections are often about one other issue - it's the economy, stupid. The CiU took an unexpected beating at the polls which should in fact have been expected. Mas committed suicide because he overlooked the small matters of the economy and his austerity measures.
Now he finds himself having to form a coalition with very unlikely bedfellows. There are two main options - the ERC (the Catalan Republican Left) or the PSC (the Catalonian version of the PSOE socialists). The ERC are fervent independentists. The PSC aren't. Like PSOE nationally, they don't approve of separatism. For the right-leaning, conservative Catholic CiU neither option is particularly attractive. Where the economy is concerned, the PSC would probably make greater sense as a coalition partner, but if this is the option Mas were to follow, the independence issue would be dead and buried (for now), thus provoking the obvious question as to why Mas ever bothered raising it.
But the independence issue will not go away. Bauzà is completely wrong in his analysis because not only have the ERC gained significantly, a party that had never previously had parliamentary representation, the anti-capitalist CUP, now has three seats. Mas may have been right about the sentiment for independence, but he most certainly hadn't bargained on the electorate actually voting for parties for whom independence is pretty much their only reason for being.
The belief is that Mas will press ahead towards a referendum with the ERC by his side. If anything, the election will cause a greater entrenching of views. There was just a possibility that Rajoy might have responded by revisiting the Catalonian request for tax-raising powers (the rejection of which kicked off the momentum towards independence), but one feels that this is now impossible. While pro-Spanish unity politicians like the Balearics president might think that mission was accomplished on Sunday, he is very wrong. It was a botched job and one that has made the situation potentially more volatile than it was.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Friday, November 23, 2012
Catalonia's Day Of Destiny?
The question mark in this article's title is important. On Sunday there will be an election in Catalonia. To believe some, you would think that the result would all but seal Catalonia's destiny. It will do nothing of the sort.
Artur Mas, the Catalonian president, has called the election for two reasons: one, he failed to secure an agreement on tax-raising powers with central government; two, because he is seeking a mandate which might lead to a referendum on Catalonian independence. The election may be the first step in securing independence, but this is all it is.
Mas's failure to get Prime Minister Rajoy to allow Catalonia to raise income and other taxes is what precipitated the election. Or so it is said. Mas would have known that Rajoy would not consent to the demand. Official rejection was needed to set in motion the independence gambit, the first stage of which is a new election. Mas, hopeful of shoring up popularity, which had been dwindling because of his own austerity measures, has used the duller fiscal and economic and so therefore less radical argument to appeal to the altogether more radical and romantic tendency in Catalonia, that of independence.
The justification for Catalonia seeking tax-raising powers are two-fold: a) its contribution in funding fiscal equalisation (richer regions fund poorer ones) is, along with Madrid's, the highest in absolute terms; b) unlike the Basque Country and Navarre, it doesn't have such powers, so misses out on greater revenue, albeit that it would still, as with these two regions, have to transfer a proportion of tax revenue to central government.
History, inevitably, plays a huge part in the Catalonian argument. The reasons for the Basque Country and Navarre enjoying privileges that no other region of Spain does can be traced back to the early eighteenth century and to the War of the Spanish Succession. Catalonia lost privileges it once had because it took the wrong side.
Economics and finance are, though, only a part of the story. However much it is disputed that Catalonia has an historic claim to be a separate nation, there is a belief that it does have such a claim. This is the romantic argument, one stripped of the pragmatism of the purely economic. When a million or so people take to the streets to demand independence, they do so with the notion of long-denied nationhood in mind, not tax returns.
But none of this is actually to be decided on Sunday. Mas's CiU party may not get the absolute majority it wants (polls suggest that it won't). If it fails to or fails to increase the number of seats it has in the Catalonian parliament, Mas would not benefit from the "exceptional majority" he has said is required to move towards what would be an illegal referendum that would place Catalonia on a collision course with central government. The Republican Left party looks likely to make gains and so could well support Mas. In combination with the CiU, the number of seats may well exceed the 68 for an outright majority, but the ERC Republicans are a very different beast to the Catholic conservative CiU.
All the talk of independence, all the talk of how a separate Catalonia may or may not be able to align itself with the European Union, all the talk of the eventual creation of a Greater Catalonia that would embrace the Balearics (a ridiculous notion as there is no desire for such a thing in the Balearics except among a very small minority), all the wilder talk of possible military intervention have been premature. Even were Mas to get an absolute majority, getting to a referendum, let alone independence, would be some way down the track. And chances are that the independence gambit has, all along, been one to make Rajoy change his mind on tax-raising.
Premature or not, there are forces which have been seeking to discredit Mas. Central government is one, and the press, in the form of "El Mundo", another; the Catalonian public prosecutor is to open proceedings for libel against the newspaper for alleging that a police report exists which suggests Mas has taken kickbacks. It is the resort to attempt to undermine Mas that highlights why it is important that Catalonia does not secede. Catalonia is, in a sense, the conscience of Spain. It has received its knocks and its injustices, perceived or real, but it has retained an independence of voice as well as a tradition of liberalism. Catalonia's past should be part of Spain's present and future, as Spain needs Catalonia as much for its traditions of liberty as it does for its money. Don't go, Catalonia.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Artur Mas, the Catalonian president, has called the election for two reasons: one, he failed to secure an agreement on tax-raising powers with central government; two, because he is seeking a mandate which might lead to a referendum on Catalonian independence. The election may be the first step in securing independence, but this is all it is.
Mas's failure to get Prime Minister Rajoy to allow Catalonia to raise income and other taxes is what precipitated the election. Or so it is said. Mas would have known that Rajoy would not consent to the demand. Official rejection was needed to set in motion the independence gambit, the first stage of which is a new election. Mas, hopeful of shoring up popularity, which had been dwindling because of his own austerity measures, has used the duller fiscal and economic and so therefore less radical argument to appeal to the altogether more radical and romantic tendency in Catalonia, that of independence.
The justification for Catalonia seeking tax-raising powers are two-fold: a) its contribution in funding fiscal equalisation (richer regions fund poorer ones) is, along with Madrid's, the highest in absolute terms; b) unlike the Basque Country and Navarre, it doesn't have such powers, so misses out on greater revenue, albeit that it would still, as with these two regions, have to transfer a proportion of tax revenue to central government.
History, inevitably, plays a huge part in the Catalonian argument. The reasons for the Basque Country and Navarre enjoying privileges that no other region of Spain does can be traced back to the early eighteenth century and to the War of the Spanish Succession. Catalonia lost privileges it once had because it took the wrong side.
Economics and finance are, though, only a part of the story. However much it is disputed that Catalonia has an historic claim to be a separate nation, there is a belief that it does have such a claim. This is the romantic argument, one stripped of the pragmatism of the purely economic. When a million or so people take to the streets to demand independence, they do so with the notion of long-denied nationhood in mind, not tax returns.
But none of this is actually to be decided on Sunday. Mas's CiU party may not get the absolute majority it wants (polls suggest that it won't). If it fails to or fails to increase the number of seats it has in the Catalonian parliament, Mas would not benefit from the "exceptional majority" he has said is required to move towards what would be an illegal referendum that would place Catalonia on a collision course with central government. The Republican Left party looks likely to make gains and so could well support Mas. In combination with the CiU, the number of seats may well exceed the 68 for an outright majority, but the ERC Republicans are a very different beast to the Catholic conservative CiU.
All the talk of independence, all the talk of how a separate Catalonia may or may not be able to align itself with the European Union, all the talk of the eventual creation of a Greater Catalonia that would embrace the Balearics (a ridiculous notion as there is no desire for such a thing in the Balearics except among a very small minority), all the wilder talk of possible military intervention have been premature. Even were Mas to get an absolute majority, getting to a referendum, let alone independence, would be some way down the track. And chances are that the independence gambit has, all along, been one to make Rajoy change his mind on tax-raising.
Premature or not, there are forces which have been seeking to discredit Mas. Central government is one, and the press, in the form of "El Mundo", another; the Catalonian public prosecutor is to open proceedings for libel against the newspaper for alleging that a police report exists which suggests Mas has taken kickbacks. It is the resort to attempt to undermine Mas that highlights why it is important that Catalonia does not secede. Catalonia is, in a sense, the conscience of Spain. It has received its knocks and its injustices, perceived or real, but it has retained an independence of voice as well as a tradition of liberalism. Catalonia's past should be part of Spain's present and future, as Spain needs Catalonia as much for its traditions of liberty as it does for its money. Don't go, Catalonia.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Catalonia Is Not Spain, And Nor Is Galicia
When a country is in as deep a mess as Spain is, when its government has shown itself to be as prone to procrastination as Spain's is, when its prime minister is as anonymous and as lacking a spark of inspiration as Spain's is, a ruling party - by any normal rules of elections - should receive a spanking. This is Spain, however. Or more accurately, this is Galicia. Archly conservative and home to that anonymous prime minister, such anonymity does not equate to lack of homeland popularity; the Partido Popular has not just won the regional election in Galicia, it has increased its majority.
This isn't how things are meant to happen, but happen they have. The PP's win in Galicia can be described in many ways and with many different adjectives, but does it represent a vote of national confidence in Rajoy and the government?
The answer is almost certainly no. Yes, it is seemingly remarkable that the PP could have increased its majority, but questions about the opposition PSOE are as relevant as any about the government and its policies. An opposition party, given the circumstances in Spain, should be performing much better. The truth is that PSOE is still in as much disarray as it was after the clouting it received in both regional and national elections last year.
Whether PSOE would be faring better now had it not confirmed as its leader Alfredo Rubalcaba, the defeated prime ministerial candidate, is a moot point, but in failing to select Carmen Chacón back in February, the party arguably missed an opportunity to give itself a facelift and a fresh appearance. Rubalcaba cuts a figure almost as dull as Rajoy (which is saying something) and he carries the burden of defeat. Oh how much PSOE and indeed Spain are crying out for a González; this is a land of uniformly grey, uninspiring politicians.
Galicia represents a triumph for party organisation as well as history. It is PP land, and the PP, generally better organised than PSOE in any event, threw its considerable weight behind ensuring a good result, despite a lower than expected turnout, which might in fact have worked to its advantage. But the victory is a local victory. The party has not managed to pick up in other regions where there have been elections this year (Andalucía and Asturias), and it had a bit of a mare in the Basque Country on the same day as the Galicia election, losing three seats. There again, PSOE also lost ground.
The Basque elections, required once PSOE had proved to be incapable of running the region in coalition with, oddly enough, the PP, have returned what will probably be a new coalition of the moderate PNV (Basque Nationalists) and EH-Bildu, very much more minded towards independence and considered by some as a front for the now terrorism-renounced ETA.
The contrast between Galicia and the Basque Country is stark and it highlights the fractured nature of the union of Spanish regions. Or at least, the fracture caused by some of the regions. Galicia is indifferent to nationalist claims, reflected in the decline in support for its own BNG nationalists, but the Basques will have been eyeing up events in Catalonia with keen interest, the PNV in particular. Moderate the PNV may be - but then so is Artur Mas's CiU in Catalonia - it wants more self-government, for example control over airports, and intends a new law paving the way for a referendum on independence by 2015. What happens after the 25 November elections in Catalonia could be as historic for the Basques as it might be for the Catalonians. Or things could just go dreadfully wrong.
For now though, Rajoy can take some confidence from the Galicia win. As he has appeared to have been waiting for the elections before requesting the inevitable Spanish bailout, he can now, with brassnecked cynicism, go ahead and request it and so stop fannying around. He really needn't have waited, as Galicia was probably secure regardless and he had made sure to smooth things in his home region by being generous to Galicia during the recent round of national government divvying up of investment in the regions (unlike the Balearics).
The bailout will affect national pride, of this there is little doubt, but it has been anticipated for so long that the country is probably resigned to it. Dealing with any political fallout from the bailout will be one thing. Quite another is Catalonia and now the Basques. Where on earth is this all leading?
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
This isn't how things are meant to happen, but happen they have. The PP's win in Galicia can be described in many ways and with many different adjectives, but does it represent a vote of national confidence in Rajoy and the government?
The answer is almost certainly no. Yes, it is seemingly remarkable that the PP could have increased its majority, but questions about the opposition PSOE are as relevant as any about the government and its policies. An opposition party, given the circumstances in Spain, should be performing much better. The truth is that PSOE is still in as much disarray as it was after the clouting it received in both regional and national elections last year.
Whether PSOE would be faring better now had it not confirmed as its leader Alfredo Rubalcaba, the defeated prime ministerial candidate, is a moot point, but in failing to select Carmen Chacón back in February, the party arguably missed an opportunity to give itself a facelift and a fresh appearance. Rubalcaba cuts a figure almost as dull as Rajoy (which is saying something) and he carries the burden of defeat. Oh how much PSOE and indeed Spain are crying out for a González; this is a land of uniformly grey, uninspiring politicians.
Galicia represents a triumph for party organisation as well as history. It is PP land, and the PP, generally better organised than PSOE in any event, threw its considerable weight behind ensuring a good result, despite a lower than expected turnout, which might in fact have worked to its advantage. But the victory is a local victory. The party has not managed to pick up in other regions where there have been elections this year (Andalucía and Asturias), and it had a bit of a mare in the Basque Country on the same day as the Galicia election, losing three seats. There again, PSOE also lost ground.
The Basque elections, required once PSOE had proved to be incapable of running the region in coalition with, oddly enough, the PP, have returned what will probably be a new coalition of the moderate PNV (Basque Nationalists) and EH-Bildu, very much more minded towards independence and considered by some as a front for the now terrorism-renounced ETA.
The contrast between Galicia and the Basque Country is stark and it highlights the fractured nature of the union of Spanish regions. Or at least, the fracture caused by some of the regions. Galicia is indifferent to nationalist claims, reflected in the decline in support for its own BNG nationalists, but the Basques will have been eyeing up events in Catalonia with keen interest, the PNV in particular. Moderate the PNV may be - but then so is Artur Mas's CiU in Catalonia - it wants more self-government, for example control over airports, and intends a new law paving the way for a referendum on independence by 2015. What happens after the 25 November elections in Catalonia could be as historic for the Basques as it might be for the Catalonians. Or things could just go dreadfully wrong.
For now though, Rajoy can take some confidence from the Galicia win. As he has appeared to have been waiting for the elections before requesting the inevitable Spanish bailout, he can now, with brassnecked cynicism, go ahead and request it and so stop fannying around. He really needn't have waited, as Galicia was probably secure regardless and he had made sure to smooth things in his home region by being generous to Galicia during the recent round of national government divvying up of investment in the regions (unlike the Balearics).
The bailout will affect national pride, of this there is little doubt, but it has been anticipated for so long that the country is probably resigned to it. Dealing with any political fallout from the bailout will be one thing. Quite another is Catalonia and now the Basques. Where on earth is this all leading?
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Sunday, October 21, 2012
A Very Spanish Coup
Thirty years ago next Saturday something didn't happen. Partly because it didn't happen, 27 October 1982 is not afforded great prominence in recent history. There is no 27-O that has slipped into the general vocabulary in the way that both 23-F and 24-F have. What a difference nineteen months made. On 27 October 1982 nothing happened. It was a very Spanish coup as it didn't take place.
Despite 23-F and 24-F having acquired great status as the two days in February 1981 when a coup was attempted and then quelled, they too are indicative of a very Spanish coup. Manuel from "Fawlty Towers" wandered into the parliament building waving a pistol, some shots were fired, things looked a bit dicey for a time, then the King went on telly, and everyone forgot about the coup. It only seemed to confirm a Spanish propensity to cock things up. They can't even do coups properly. They should have known better anyway. Four years before the 1981 attempt, the staff from Grace Brothers, holidaying on the Costa Plonka, had heralded how revolution would be bound to fail.
Of course, revolution hadn't failed in the past. The Spanish were actually pretty good at the art, but that was in the day before Spain acquired some semblance of modernity and had been overrun by mercenary tourists and a film crew for "Are You Being Served? The Movie". 23-F was daft enough. 27-O was dafter still. Both coups were from a bygone era when coups were coups and people really did get shot and governments were overthrown.
What made 27-O especially daft was the fact that the army colonels who had plotted the coup attempt had done so because they didn't want any nasty socialists taking over Spain. They had neglected to notice, however, that Felipe González, destined to be the first socialist prime minister in the post-Franco era, was cut from a somewhat different cloth to the communists who had come to dominate the Republic prior to Franco's revolution. They hadn't neglected the fact that González's PSOE was destined to win the general election on 28 October 1982 - it was this victory that they wanted to avoid - but they had nevertheless neglected the enthusiasm for PSOE among the Spanish people and the expectation for change. They were of the past, out of step, still holding to an outmoded notion of the military as the supreme force in the land.
When the coup was uncovered - some three weeks before it was due to take place - the plotters were arrested. They were dealt with in a kindly fashion. PSOE had no wish to antagonise the army by pressing for swingeing reprisals. Another way of looking at the moderate way in which the colonels were treated is that they were considered fools, deserving of some sympathy. The coup attempt wasn't swept under the carpet so much as it wasn't granted a huge amount of attention. 27-O was swiftly forgotten both because it didn't actually happen and because it didn't merit being remembered.
As a consequence, this coming Saturday is unlikely to arouse much if anything by way of commemoration, except in one regard, that of discussion of the possibility, however remote, of another very Spanish coup or some act involving the military.
In theory, the Constitution drawn up after Franco stripped the military of much of its power. But theory and practice are not always the same thing. The theory hasn't prevented there being hints bordering on threats that the military would intervene because of the Catalonia question. And one might add mutterings from the armed forces that have been critical of the political class as a whole and supportive of protests against austerity measures.
Since the Catalonian president Artur Mas announced his intention to call an election on 25 November which, if he wins, would be seen as giving him a popular mandate to seek independence for Catalonia, the rhetoric has been cranked up. Mas has been warned that he risks being "inhabilitated". This is not an English word, but in being lifted from the Spanish, it describes rather well what his fate would be. A referendum on secession would be illegal, and the Spanish state would find a way to remove him. Such a move would be like a different type of very Spanish coup; the national government ousting a regional government president, and a Catalonian one, to boot. There should be concern at the ramifications of such a move.
If 27-O is likely to pass without any fanfare, 25-N will not. Catalonia and Spain are moving into unchartered territory, one in which different agents will seek to plant their stakes - those of political parties most obviously. But what of other agents? As the rhetoric widens to embrace Mallorca, the Esquerra Republicana having suggested that Mallorcans could opt to be a part of a Greater Catalonia, it might not be, you fear, just the politicians who undertake a battle in this unknown territory.
27-O might be forgotten, but it might be as well if it were better remembered.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Despite 23-F and 24-F having acquired great status as the two days in February 1981 when a coup was attempted and then quelled, they too are indicative of a very Spanish coup. Manuel from "Fawlty Towers" wandered into the parliament building waving a pistol, some shots were fired, things looked a bit dicey for a time, then the King went on telly, and everyone forgot about the coup. It only seemed to confirm a Spanish propensity to cock things up. They can't even do coups properly. They should have known better anyway. Four years before the 1981 attempt, the staff from Grace Brothers, holidaying on the Costa Plonka, had heralded how revolution would be bound to fail.
Of course, revolution hadn't failed in the past. The Spanish were actually pretty good at the art, but that was in the day before Spain acquired some semblance of modernity and had been overrun by mercenary tourists and a film crew for "Are You Being Served? The Movie". 23-F was daft enough. 27-O was dafter still. Both coups were from a bygone era when coups were coups and people really did get shot and governments were overthrown.
What made 27-O especially daft was the fact that the army colonels who had plotted the coup attempt had done so because they didn't want any nasty socialists taking over Spain. They had neglected to notice, however, that Felipe González, destined to be the first socialist prime minister in the post-Franco era, was cut from a somewhat different cloth to the communists who had come to dominate the Republic prior to Franco's revolution. They hadn't neglected the fact that González's PSOE was destined to win the general election on 28 October 1982 - it was this victory that they wanted to avoid - but they had nevertheless neglected the enthusiasm for PSOE among the Spanish people and the expectation for change. They were of the past, out of step, still holding to an outmoded notion of the military as the supreme force in the land.
When the coup was uncovered - some three weeks before it was due to take place - the plotters were arrested. They were dealt with in a kindly fashion. PSOE had no wish to antagonise the army by pressing for swingeing reprisals. Another way of looking at the moderate way in which the colonels were treated is that they were considered fools, deserving of some sympathy. The coup attempt wasn't swept under the carpet so much as it wasn't granted a huge amount of attention. 27-O was swiftly forgotten both because it didn't actually happen and because it didn't merit being remembered.
As a consequence, this coming Saturday is unlikely to arouse much if anything by way of commemoration, except in one regard, that of discussion of the possibility, however remote, of another very Spanish coup or some act involving the military.
In theory, the Constitution drawn up after Franco stripped the military of much of its power. But theory and practice are not always the same thing. The theory hasn't prevented there being hints bordering on threats that the military would intervene because of the Catalonia question. And one might add mutterings from the armed forces that have been critical of the political class as a whole and supportive of protests against austerity measures.
Since the Catalonian president Artur Mas announced his intention to call an election on 25 November which, if he wins, would be seen as giving him a popular mandate to seek independence for Catalonia, the rhetoric has been cranked up. Mas has been warned that he risks being "inhabilitated". This is not an English word, but in being lifted from the Spanish, it describes rather well what his fate would be. A referendum on secession would be illegal, and the Spanish state would find a way to remove him. Such a move would be like a different type of very Spanish coup; the national government ousting a regional government president, and a Catalonian one, to boot. There should be concern at the ramifications of such a move.
If 27-O is likely to pass without any fanfare, 25-N will not. Catalonia and Spain are moving into unchartered territory, one in which different agents will seek to plant their stakes - those of political parties most obviously. But what of other agents? As the rhetoric widens to embrace Mallorca, the Esquerra Republicana having suggested that Mallorcans could opt to be a part of a Greater Catalonia, it might not be, you fear, just the politicians who undertake a battle in this unknown territory.
27-O might be forgotten, but it might be as well if it were better remembered.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Monday, September 24, 2012
The Crazy World Of Arthur Mas
Included in the Nueva Planta decrees issued by King Philip V in the early eighteenth century were those which allowed Navarre and the Basque Country to keep their charters. Both were given special privileges because they had supported Philip during the War of the Spanish Succession. Catalonia lost its charter because it had backed the wrong horse.
These special privileges still exist. Navarre and the Basque Country operate financial pacts with the Spanish state. These mean that they have tax-raising powers, a privilege that is not shared by Catalonia which wants greater powers as well as more of the financial pot and to stop having to pay for other regions to the extent that it has been. The president of Catalonia, Arthur Mas (who we should call Artur), has been told by Mariano Rajoy that he can't have such powers. As a result, Artur is considering not so much taking his bat home but pulling the whole team off the Spanish park.
Mas is saying that Catalonia needs its own structures as a state and that it is now its turn for transition (Spain having had its). The spokesperson for the Catalonian government, Francesc Homs, is saying that a referendum on independence is possible within four years. The King is telling the Catalonians to stop chasing rainbows. Rubalcaba, for the opposition PSOE, is telling Mas to back off. Rajoy is doing his best Charles de Gaulle ("non, "non") and is defending the Constitution. The European Union is getting into a bit of a flap about the whole thing.
When the 600,000, or one and a half million or two million (take your pick from the different sources) took to the streets of Barcelona on Catalonia's National Day (and the Catalonians celebrate a day when they were given a sound kicking by Philip V), Mas would have taken this as a signal to suggest he has a mandate for embarking on an independentist route. He doesn't officially have such a mandate, only one to negotiate a better financial deal for Catalonia, but this isn't stopping him from playing the independent card for his own political advantage (always assuming it is in fact an advantage).
Rajoy and Mas are not unalike. Both have the air of the cold fish about them. Mas has suggested in the past that he is more a technocrat than politician, so his movement towards separatism might appear strange. But technocrats can do their sums. Catalonia may be in debt up to its neck and may be needing a massive bailout from Madrid, but it would be argued that it wouldn't be in so much debt if it hadn't been made to hand over money to pay for mad projects in regions of Spain which don't have a euro to urinate into.
What Mas isn't is a raving loony. He is basically a conservative politician when he's not being a technocrat. There may in fact be method in his madness if it were to result in a redefinition of Spain's regions, one that is more federal. Yet this comes at a time when there are arguments aplenty to get rid of the regions because they have been so financially promiscuous. Mas can't be accused of this when he has been introducing austerity measures in Catalonia that have made him unpopular. The independence thing might, therefore, be purely a political gambit to re-establish this lost popularity.
It is, though, a dangerous game, and the danger goes deeper than just a threat to declare independence. It shouldn't be forgotten that in 2006 the army general José Mena was put under house arrest for suggesting that the military might intervene were Catalonia to be granted greater autonomy. Unlike Mena, an army colonel, Francisco Alamán Castro, appears to have avoided any sanction for stating the case for military intervention in the event of independence. This was in an interview with a far-right publication at the end of last month. Catalonia, separatism, independence conjure up memories and worrying scenarios that make the claim for independence a very different beast to that of Scotland's.
Mas may well call an election in November and hope that he gets a popular mandate for independence. It's not out of the question that he would, though any move towards independence would be blocked by Rajoy raising the defence of the Constitution which doesn't permit a region's independence. Mas argues that this is a clause that reflected the time when it was written, three years after Franco's death. Be this as it may, Rajoy has said he will uphold the Constitution if necessary. The question is how he is prepared to uphold it.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
These special privileges still exist. Navarre and the Basque Country operate financial pacts with the Spanish state. These mean that they have tax-raising powers, a privilege that is not shared by Catalonia which wants greater powers as well as more of the financial pot and to stop having to pay for other regions to the extent that it has been. The president of Catalonia, Arthur Mas (who we should call Artur), has been told by Mariano Rajoy that he can't have such powers. As a result, Artur is considering not so much taking his bat home but pulling the whole team off the Spanish park.
Mas is saying that Catalonia needs its own structures as a state and that it is now its turn for transition (Spain having had its). The spokesperson for the Catalonian government, Francesc Homs, is saying that a referendum on independence is possible within four years. The King is telling the Catalonians to stop chasing rainbows. Rubalcaba, for the opposition PSOE, is telling Mas to back off. Rajoy is doing his best Charles de Gaulle ("non, "non") and is defending the Constitution. The European Union is getting into a bit of a flap about the whole thing.
When the 600,000, or one and a half million or two million (take your pick from the different sources) took to the streets of Barcelona on Catalonia's National Day (and the Catalonians celebrate a day when they were given a sound kicking by Philip V), Mas would have taken this as a signal to suggest he has a mandate for embarking on an independentist route. He doesn't officially have such a mandate, only one to negotiate a better financial deal for Catalonia, but this isn't stopping him from playing the independent card for his own political advantage (always assuming it is in fact an advantage).
Rajoy and Mas are not unalike. Both have the air of the cold fish about them. Mas has suggested in the past that he is more a technocrat than politician, so his movement towards separatism might appear strange. But technocrats can do their sums. Catalonia may be in debt up to its neck and may be needing a massive bailout from Madrid, but it would be argued that it wouldn't be in so much debt if it hadn't been made to hand over money to pay for mad projects in regions of Spain which don't have a euro to urinate into.
What Mas isn't is a raving loony. He is basically a conservative politician when he's not being a technocrat. There may in fact be method in his madness if it were to result in a redefinition of Spain's regions, one that is more federal. Yet this comes at a time when there are arguments aplenty to get rid of the regions because they have been so financially promiscuous. Mas can't be accused of this when he has been introducing austerity measures in Catalonia that have made him unpopular. The independence thing might, therefore, be purely a political gambit to re-establish this lost popularity.
It is, though, a dangerous game, and the danger goes deeper than just a threat to declare independence. It shouldn't be forgotten that in 2006 the army general José Mena was put under house arrest for suggesting that the military might intervene were Catalonia to be granted greater autonomy. Unlike Mena, an army colonel, Francisco Alamán Castro, appears to have avoided any sanction for stating the case for military intervention in the event of independence. This was in an interview with a far-right publication at the end of last month. Catalonia, separatism, independence conjure up memories and worrying scenarios that make the claim for independence a very different beast to that of Scotland's.
Mas may well call an election in November and hope that he gets a popular mandate for independence. It's not out of the question that he would, though any move towards independence would be blocked by Rajoy raising the defence of the Constitution which doesn't permit a region's independence. Mas argues that this is a clause that reflected the time when it was written, three years after Franco's death. Be this as it may, Rajoy has said he will uphold the Constitution if necessary. The question is how he is prepared to uphold it.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Rapper's Delete
I can't be certain but I wouldn't be at all surprised were Josep Miquel Arenas, aka Josemy Valtonyc Marx Beltrán (Es Rapero Pagés - Marxista Leninista) to receive a visit from someone in the near future. Who is Josemy Valtonyc etc.? He is a 17-year-old rapper and he is not happy with, variously: the King and the royal family; Jorge Campos, the founder of the Círculo Balear; the mayor of Sineu; and the president of Nuevas Generaciones in Sineu.
Referred to as the rapper from Sa Pobla, despite a connection with Sineu (he went to school there and has, you might have noticed, got problems with some people from Sineu), Valtonyc has been creating a right old rapping rumpus. Via his poetry, he has nominated the King for assassination, Jorge Campos for death, and both Pere Joan Jaume, the mayor, and Laura Montenegro, of Nuevas Generaciones, for the receipt of a silver bullet, presumably from the barrel of a gun and not in a velvet-lined presentation box.
In case you are not quite up to speed with some of this, Campos' Círculo Balear is a sort of Catalan anti-Christ, while Nuevas Generaciones are like the Young Conservatives but without the Harris tweeds. Given his various targets, you can conclude that Valtonyc is not exactly a monarchist, not exactly a great admirer of Castellano and not exactly a supporter of the Partido Popular. The "Marxista Leninista", which is how he describes himself on his Facebook page, is a bit of a giveaway, after all. His revolutionary tendencies extend to his also describing himself as an "independentista", which is not a type of orthodontics, but a declaration of support for an independent Mallorca or Balearics or Catalan Lands or probably all three.
Rap is prone to the use of extreme lyrics, but going around suggesting that the King should be assassinated is not likely to be dismissed as rapping poetic licence. It's why I fancy that Valtonyc might just find himself in a spot of bother. One of his latest outpourings is unlikely to endear him to the good people of Sineu either. "Sineu Will Be Afghanistan" is its title, which will come as a shock to the residents of the town though not as much of a shock as to the mayor who is now also being lined up for the guillotine.
While Valtonyc's extremism probably won't be overlooked, might it be better if it were? Is he just an angry young teenager who has found he has a talent (at least one presumes this to be the case) for rap and poetry and has a lot to get off his chest? It might, therefore, be wiser to ignore him rather than fuel his extremism with the publicity of martyrdom that could yet come his way.
Does, however, Valtonyc represent an undercurrent of belief among Mallorcan youth? Mallorca has historically not been especially radical. Quite the contrary, it is an essentially conservative society. But such an undercurrent does exist and not only among the youth.
There is an event called the "Acampallengua". It is held annually and is a youth festival that celebrates Catalan language and culture. During the 2009 event in Sa Pobla, a spokesperson from the Obra Cultural Balear (OCB), an organisation that is the complete opposite to the Círculo Balear, delivered a speech in which it was stated that "we will not take a step backwards in the struggle for our language". At the time, I asked whether the Acampallengua might just contribute to a radicalisation of youth. During this year's event in Manacor, there was a performance by ... you've guessed it, Valtonyc.
It would be quite wrong to suggest that all those who attend these events are either radical or are prone to being radicalised or that they have any sympathy for Valtonyc's lyrics. But there will be some, and the organisers of the events, a group called Mallorcan Youths for the Language, have as a key sponsor the OCB. And the OCB promotes independence, just like Valtonyc.
It would be interesting to know what the OCB thinks of Valtonyc's death threats. Chances are that they would be put down to teenage angst and the excesses of rap culture. And to be honest, this is probably what they should be put down to.
Nevertheless, there is an uneasy sense that Valtonyc is tapping into a growth of what I discerned in 2009, a time when there wasn't a ruling political party that took a negative view of Catalan, a time also when economic crisis hadn't caused the decimation it since has.
Will the rapper of Sa Pobla just be ignored or will he join the ranks of the new Catalan martyrs? It won't be the former. Jorge Campos has denounced him.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Referred to as the rapper from Sa Pobla, despite a connection with Sineu (he went to school there and has, you might have noticed, got problems with some people from Sineu), Valtonyc has been creating a right old rapping rumpus. Via his poetry, he has nominated the King for assassination, Jorge Campos for death, and both Pere Joan Jaume, the mayor, and Laura Montenegro, of Nuevas Generaciones, for the receipt of a silver bullet, presumably from the barrel of a gun and not in a velvet-lined presentation box.
In case you are not quite up to speed with some of this, Campos' Círculo Balear is a sort of Catalan anti-Christ, while Nuevas Generaciones are like the Young Conservatives but without the Harris tweeds. Given his various targets, you can conclude that Valtonyc is not exactly a monarchist, not exactly a great admirer of Castellano and not exactly a supporter of the Partido Popular. The "Marxista Leninista", which is how he describes himself on his Facebook page, is a bit of a giveaway, after all. His revolutionary tendencies extend to his also describing himself as an "independentista", which is not a type of orthodontics, but a declaration of support for an independent Mallorca or Balearics or Catalan Lands or probably all three.
Rap is prone to the use of extreme lyrics, but going around suggesting that the King should be assassinated is not likely to be dismissed as rapping poetic licence. It's why I fancy that Valtonyc might just find himself in a spot of bother. One of his latest outpourings is unlikely to endear him to the good people of Sineu either. "Sineu Will Be Afghanistan" is its title, which will come as a shock to the residents of the town though not as much of a shock as to the mayor who is now also being lined up for the guillotine.
While Valtonyc's extremism probably won't be overlooked, might it be better if it were? Is he just an angry young teenager who has found he has a talent (at least one presumes this to be the case) for rap and poetry and has a lot to get off his chest? It might, therefore, be wiser to ignore him rather than fuel his extremism with the publicity of martyrdom that could yet come his way.
Does, however, Valtonyc represent an undercurrent of belief among Mallorcan youth? Mallorca has historically not been especially radical. Quite the contrary, it is an essentially conservative society. But such an undercurrent does exist and not only among the youth.
There is an event called the "Acampallengua". It is held annually and is a youth festival that celebrates Catalan language and culture. During the 2009 event in Sa Pobla, a spokesperson from the Obra Cultural Balear (OCB), an organisation that is the complete opposite to the Círculo Balear, delivered a speech in which it was stated that "we will not take a step backwards in the struggle for our language". At the time, I asked whether the Acampallengua might just contribute to a radicalisation of youth. During this year's event in Manacor, there was a performance by ... you've guessed it, Valtonyc.
It would be quite wrong to suggest that all those who attend these events are either radical or are prone to being radicalised or that they have any sympathy for Valtonyc's lyrics. But there will be some, and the organisers of the events, a group called Mallorcan Youths for the Language, have as a key sponsor the OCB. And the OCB promotes independence, just like Valtonyc.
It would be interesting to know what the OCB thinks of Valtonyc's death threats. Chances are that they would be put down to teenage angst and the excesses of rap culture. And to be honest, this is probably what they should be put down to.
Nevertheless, there is an uneasy sense that Valtonyc is tapping into a growth of what I discerned in 2009, a time when there wasn't a ruling political party that took a negative view of Catalan, a time also when economic crisis hadn't caused the decimation it since has.
Will the rapper of Sa Pobla just be ignored or will he join the ranks of the new Catalan martyrs? It won't be the former. Jorge Campos has denounced him.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
On Trial: The Spanish judiciary
Justice, administered and delivered by judges and magistrates in Spain, is administered and delivered in the name of the King. The King, in addressing a legal profession gathering in Barcelona, has reminded judges that it is they alone who impart justice. On Saturday, the King's son-in-law appears in a Palma court. The judge presiding over the "caso Nóos" is consulting with not just the prosecution but also the government and the Partido Popular as to whether they wish the King's daughter, Princess Cristina, to be indicted as part of this case.
Make of this little mix what you will, as there is an awful lot that can be made of it.
Under the Spanish Constitution, the judiciary is independent, and so of course it should be. But the extent to which it truly is independent or neutral is coming under increasing scrutiny. The Garzón affair has raised serious doubts, and the royal family having become embroiled in the wider investigation and trial of the former president of the Balearics, Jaume Matas, raises more doubts.
Let's be clear. If, and one stresses if, there is a case for the King's daughter to answer, then so be it. The royal household, from the outset of the investigation of the Duke of Palma, has made it clear that it respects the actions of the judiciary, but justice being administered and delivered in the name of King when it might involve the King's daughter, as opposed to a commoner (which the Duke is), highlights just how much of a dilemma has been created by the investigation.
For Judge Castro, the dilemma is enormous. By consulting with the government and a political party, he runs the risk of being seen to be subject to political influence. Should it not be his decision and his decision alone? Possibly. But by counselling the wishes of the political class, or a part of it, he is placing the dilemma in the hands of this political class.
In some respects, one could say he is playing a blinder, as he is handing responsibility elsewhere. But however the political class decides to play things, it will be criticised. Firstly, it will be criticised for getting involved at all. Secondly, if it says it does not wish the Princess to be indicted, it risks being accused of applying one rule for one and one rule for another (assuming, that is, there genuinely is a case to answer, and most noises have suggested not, as with the evidence of former Olympic sailing gold medallist, "Pepote" Ballester). Thirdly, if it says it does wish the Princess to be indicted, then it potentially opens up a massive can of worms.
The reason why this can of worms might be opened up is that a trap has been laid by the right-wing union Manos Limpias. In calling for the Princess to be indicted, if the government and the PP were to follow its demand, the union would, in effect, receive official backing. For the government to be perceived as acceding to the wishes of a union with the type of associations it has, i.e. Francoist, could be hugely damaging.
The government will be damned if it does and damned if it doesn't, and a further problem is that the Spanish people, generally speaking, are indifferent to many members of the royal family, with the definite exception of the King, who is held in such enormous regard, and rightly so.
The whole affair surrounding the Duke couldn't have come at a worse time for the Spanish judiciary. The world is having its say about a Spanish system that has tried, convicted and removed from office a leading judge at the behest of right-wing forces. Daniel Kaufmann, senior fellow at The Brookings Institution, has suggested that a travesty has been committed in respect of Judge Garzón, that judicial independence has been compromised, and, moreover, has presented evidence which indicates a decline in Spain's rule of law.
However much the Spanish judiciary is theoretically independent, there is a suspicion of politicisation and partiality. And it is caused not just by politics but also by professional rivalries within the judiciary (the Garzón affair is said to have been influenced by these). Garzón himself is not above charges of politicisation, and it is such charges, for the wider judiciary, which suggests that there needs to be some reform.
At the heart of all this, and a reason why it is all so important, is that the judiciary is a vital instrument of democracy. And in Spain, so is the monarchy. Both institutions, the legal system and the monarchy, are being placed or potentially being placed on trial.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Make of this little mix what you will, as there is an awful lot that can be made of it.
Under the Spanish Constitution, the judiciary is independent, and so of course it should be. But the extent to which it truly is independent or neutral is coming under increasing scrutiny. The Garzón affair has raised serious doubts, and the royal family having become embroiled in the wider investigation and trial of the former president of the Balearics, Jaume Matas, raises more doubts.
Let's be clear. If, and one stresses if, there is a case for the King's daughter to answer, then so be it. The royal household, from the outset of the investigation of the Duke of Palma, has made it clear that it respects the actions of the judiciary, but justice being administered and delivered in the name of King when it might involve the King's daughter, as opposed to a commoner (which the Duke is), highlights just how much of a dilemma has been created by the investigation.
For Judge Castro, the dilemma is enormous. By consulting with the government and a political party, he runs the risk of being seen to be subject to political influence. Should it not be his decision and his decision alone? Possibly. But by counselling the wishes of the political class, or a part of it, he is placing the dilemma in the hands of this political class.
In some respects, one could say he is playing a blinder, as he is handing responsibility elsewhere. But however the political class decides to play things, it will be criticised. Firstly, it will be criticised for getting involved at all. Secondly, if it says it does not wish the Princess to be indicted, it risks being accused of applying one rule for one and one rule for another (assuming, that is, there genuinely is a case to answer, and most noises have suggested not, as with the evidence of former Olympic sailing gold medallist, "Pepote" Ballester). Thirdly, if it says it does wish the Princess to be indicted, then it potentially opens up a massive can of worms.
The reason why this can of worms might be opened up is that a trap has been laid by the right-wing union Manos Limpias. In calling for the Princess to be indicted, if the government and the PP were to follow its demand, the union would, in effect, receive official backing. For the government to be perceived as acceding to the wishes of a union with the type of associations it has, i.e. Francoist, could be hugely damaging.
The government will be damned if it does and damned if it doesn't, and a further problem is that the Spanish people, generally speaking, are indifferent to many members of the royal family, with the definite exception of the King, who is held in such enormous regard, and rightly so.
The whole affair surrounding the Duke couldn't have come at a worse time for the Spanish judiciary. The world is having its say about a Spanish system that has tried, convicted and removed from office a leading judge at the behest of right-wing forces. Daniel Kaufmann, senior fellow at The Brookings Institution, has suggested that a travesty has been committed in respect of Judge Garzón, that judicial independence has been compromised, and, moreover, has presented evidence which indicates a decline in Spain's rule of law.
However much the Spanish judiciary is theoretically independent, there is a suspicion of politicisation and partiality. And it is caused not just by politics but also by professional rivalries within the judiciary (the Garzón affair is said to have been influenced by these). Garzón himself is not above charges of politicisation, and it is such charges, for the wider judiciary, which suggests that there needs to be some reform.
At the heart of all this, and a reason why it is all so important, is that the judiciary is a vital instrument of democracy. And in Spain, so is the monarchy. Both institutions, the legal system and the monarchy, are being placed or potentially being placed on trial.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
The Day Today (Or Another Day)
Here's today's quiz question for you? When is Mallorca Day?
Does today's date give you a clue? Well, yes it does, but there again it doesn't. Mallorca Day is today, according to some, but it is also and officially, 12 September. Confused? You've every right to be, as the great debate as to which day should be Mallorca Day is bound up in the mists of time and in the arguments of claimants to both dates.
12 September, in case you are wondering, celebrates the day, in 1276, when King Jaume II took the oath of the granting of the privilege of the Kingdom of Mallorca. If there is to be a Mallorca Day at all, and there has been only since 1997 when the Council of Mallorca decided that 12 September it was to be, this seems a reasonable enough excuse. You might think so, but others would disagree.
Forty-seven years before the oath, Jaume II's father, Jaume I, the Aragon king who came to the rescue of Mallorca, landed at Santa Ponsa on 31 December on his mission (successful, as it was to prove) to drive the forces of Islam from the island. Mallorca Day, therefore, is not 12 September but unofficially 31 December.
Who says so? Primarily, it is various Catalanists, independentists and left-wingers who say so, and you can chuck in some historians, who may or may not be one or all of these things, as well. Were you minded to go searching for information about Mallorca Day on the internet, you would find a website called diadademallorca.cat, which might suggest that it was the official site for the day, except of course it isn't. The domain suffix of "cat" gives the game away, as it is one used predominantly for sites dedicated to Catalan culture and language.
The website does in fact add a bit more confusion to the debate, as 30 December comes into the equation too, so much so that yesterday there was the "traditional demonstration of the Day of Mallorca" in Palma, one of a series of events that start in the middle of December all in aid of the "fiesta of the standard" (which is in fact today) and the parading of Jaume I's Royal Standard.
These events, in different towns across Mallorca, are all run by the Obra Cultural Balear (OCB), the most prominent of the organisations on the island that defends and promotes Catalan culture and language. It is not alone, though, in wishing to change the date of Mallorca Day. The PSM Mallorcan socialists, together with their allies in the general left-wing Bloc, have proposed that Palma town hall adopts 31 December as the official date and gets the Council of Mallorca to make the change.
There is, in the PSM's stance, a touch of good old nationalist rival politics at play. The PSM, nationalists with a left persuasion, take issue with the "imposition" of 12 September back in 1997 by the Council of Mallorca whose then president was Maria Antònia Munar, she of the now defunct nationalists with a right persuasion, the Unió Mallorquina.
This might all seem like a pedantic argument, but historical correctness does have a habit of generating dogmatic attitudes, and such dogma can sometimes become unpleasant.
Last year the object of this unpleasantness was the headquarters building of the OCB anti-Christ, the Círculo Balear, the dogmatically anti-Catalan organisation. It was daubed with graffiti and, true to form, it has been again. What particularly riled Catalanist elements was the decision to the Círculo to take part in the Standard celebration on 31 December, a day very much of Catalanist expression. There was also violence at the 30 December demonstration; four "independentists" who were arrested last year had vowed to return this year.
A question worth asking is whether there is a genuine ground swell of nationalism and desire for independence that the argument over Mallorca Day, the demonstration and the graffiti might suggest. Or is it confined to a vocal but active minority (and there were a mere 1500 demonstrators yesterday evening)? One is inclined to believe that it is the latter, but this year's alternative Mallorca Day has to be considered in the context of moves by the Partido Popular government to promote Castilian over Catalan, moves that don't find universal support and not even within the party itself.
Despite the dogma, there is a very good reason why, assuming there should be a Mallorca Day at all, 31 December should be the date. 1229 was in effect when Mallorca's history began, in the sense that its current-day culture started to be shaped. Prior to then, and most significantly, there was no Catalan language. It took the conquest by an Aragonese king to supplant what was then a version of Latin. 1229 and all that asks questions of current-day attitudes on the right. To deny its significance is historically incorrect, but to accept its significance is to undermine arguments against Catalan.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Index for December 2011
Almond growing, decline in Mallorca's - 6 December 2011
Artisans and authenticity - 9 December 2011
BAFMAs: Mallorcan achievement awards - 15 December 2011
Bars and restaurants to offer other services - 23 December 2011
Campanet, town hall problems in - 5 December 2011
Can Domenech and Can Llobera - 20 December 2011
Castilian and Catalan for town and street names - 29 December 2011
Christmas diary, Leonora Madd's Mallorcan - 25 December 2011, 26 December 2011
Christmas spending - 14 December 2011
Cruise ships and environment - 7 December 2011
Fascinating people in Mallorca - 4 December 2011
French tourism and promotional messages - 17 December 2011
Holiday lets: government gets tough - 3 December 2011
Hotels, modernisation and internet - 11 December 2011
Mallorca Day arguments - 31 December 2011
Mancomunidades, Mallorca's - 30 December 2011
Microsoft and film tourism - 10 December 2011
Oil exploration off the Balearics - 16 December 2011
President Bauzá and party differences - 2 December 2011
PSOE and PP divisions and challenges - 18 December 2011
Rural tourism - 27 December 2011
Sand on beaches, loss of - 28 December 2011
Thomas Cook and African risks - 19 December 2011
Thomson's holiday advert - 1 December 2011
Tourism law reform - 8 December 2011, 13 December 2011
Tourism minister and secretary, new national - 24 December 2011
Tourist tax - 22 December 2011
Trinidad, Mallorca and - 21 December 2011
TV Mallorca, fairs and musicians - 12 December 2011
Does today's date give you a clue? Well, yes it does, but there again it doesn't. Mallorca Day is today, according to some, but it is also and officially, 12 September. Confused? You've every right to be, as the great debate as to which day should be Mallorca Day is bound up in the mists of time and in the arguments of claimants to both dates.
12 September, in case you are wondering, celebrates the day, in 1276, when King Jaume II took the oath of the granting of the privilege of the Kingdom of Mallorca. If there is to be a Mallorca Day at all, and there has been only since 1997 when the Council of Mallorca decided that 12 September it was to be, this seems a reasonable enough excuse. You might think so, but others would disagree.
Forty-seven years before the oath, Jaume II's father, Jaume I, the Aragon king who came to the rescue of Mallorca, landed at Santa Ponsa on 31 December on his mission (successful, as it was to prove) to drive the forces of Islam from the island. Mallorca Day, therefore, is not 12 September but unofficially 31 December.
Who says so? Primarily, it is various Catalanists, independentists and left-wingers who say so, and you can chuck in some historians, who may or may not be one or all of these things, as well. Were you minded to go searching for information about Mallorca Day on the internet, you would find a website called diadademallorca.cat, which might suggest that it was the official site for the day, except of course it isn't. The domain suffix of "cat" gives the game away, as it is one used predominantly for sites dedicated to Catalan culture and language.
The website does in fact add a bit more confusion to the debate, as 30 December comes into the equation too, so much so that yesterday there was the "traditional demonstration of the Day of Mallorca" in Palma, one of a series of events that start in the middle of December all in aid of the "fiesta of the standard" (which is in fact today) and the parading of Jaume I's Royal Standard.
These events, in different towns across Mallorca, are all run by the Obra Cultural Balear (OCB), the most prominent of the organisations on the island that defends and promotes Catalan culture and language. It is not alone, though, in wishing to change the date of Mallorca Day. The PSM Mallorcan socialists, together with their allies in the general left-wing Bloc, have proposed that Palma town hall adopts 31 December as the official date and gets the Council of Mallorca to make the change.
There is, in the PSM's stance, a touch of good old nationalist rival politics at play. The PSM, nationalists with a left persuasion, take issue with the "imposition" of 12 September back in 1997 by the Council of Mallorca whose then president was Maria Antònia Munar, she of the now defunct nationalists with a right persuasion, the Unió Mallorquina.
This might all seem like a pedantic argument, but historical correctness does have a habit of generating dogmatic attitudes, and such dogma can sometimes become unpleasant.
Last year the object of this unpleasantness was the headquarters building of the OCB anti-Christ, the Círculo Balear, the dogmatically anti-Catalan organisation. It was daubed with graffiti and, true to form, it has been again. What particularly riled Catalanist elements was the decision to the Círculo to take part in the Standard celebration on 31 December, a day very much of Catalanist expression. There was also violence at the 30 December demonstration; four "independentists" who were arrested last year had vowed to return this year.
A question worth asking is whether there is a genuine ground swell of nationalism and desire for independence that the argument over Mallorca Day, the demonstration and the graffiti might suggest. Or is it confined to a vocal but active minority (and there were a mere 1500 demonstrators yesterday evening)? One is inclined to believe that it is the latter, but this year's alternative Mallorca Day has to be considered in the context of moves by the Partido Popular government to promote Castilian over Catalan, moves that don't find universal support and not even within the party itself.
Despite the dogma, there is a very good reason why, assuming there should be a Mallorca Day at all, 31 December should be the date. 1229 was in effect when Mallorca's history began, in the sense that its current-day culture started to be shaped. Prior to then, and most significantly, there was no Catalan language. It took the conquest by an Aragonese king to supplant what was then a version of Latin. 1229 and all that asks questions of current-day attitudes on the right. To deny its significance is historically incorrect, but to accept its significance is to undermine arguments against Catalan.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Index for December 2011
Almond growing, decline in Mallorca's - 6 December 2011
Artisans and authenticity - 9 December 2011
BAFMAs: Mallorcan achievement awards - 15 December 2011
Bars and restaurants to offer other services - 23 December 2011
Campanet, town hall problems in - 5 December 2011
Can Domenech and Can Llobera - 20 December 2011
Castilian and Catalan for town and street names - 29 December 2011
Christmas diary, Leonora Madd's Mallorcan - 25 December 2011, 26 December 2011
Christmas spending - 14 December 2011
Cruise ships and environment - 7 December 2011
Fascinating people in Mallorca - 4 December 2011
French tourism and promotional messages - 17 December 2011
Holiday lets: government gets tough - 3 December 2011
Hotels, modernisation and internet - 11 December 2011
Mallorca Day arguments - 31 December 2011
Mancomunidades, Mallorca's - 30 December 2011
Microsoft and film tourism - 10 December 2011
Oil exploration off the Balearics - 16 December 2011
President Bauzá and party differences - 2 December 2011
PSOE and PP divisions and challenges - 18 December 2011
Rural tourism - 27 December 2011
Sand on beaches, loss of - 28 December 2011
Thomas Cook and African risks - 19 December 2011
Thomson's holiday advert - 1 December 2011
Tourism law reform - 8 December 2011, 13 December 2011
Tourism minister and secretary, new national - 24 December 2011
Tourist tax - 22 December 2011
Trinidad, Mallorca and - 21 December 2011
TV Mallorca, fairs and musicians - 12 December 2011
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