Catalonia: Compromise is still the answer

BARCELONA: A decisive victory in Thursday’s Catalan elections by either the pro-Spanish or separatist blocs seems unlikely, so eventually some sort of compromise allowing greater Catalonia autonomy may have to be found.
“Philosopher Ortega y Gasset said you can’t resolve the Catalan question; you have to live with it,” said Jorge San Miguel Lobeto, a political scientist and adviser to the unionist Ciudadanos party.
“The best we can expect in the short term is to go back to a pre-crisis situation where separatists still push for independence, promote their language, but they’re not breaking the law and aren’t being disloyal to the Madrid government daily.”
Spain’s ruling People’s Party has denounced Catalan separatists. Campaigning under the slogans of “Spain is the solution,” and “The solution is PP,” Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and his cohorts warn they will again suspend Catalonia’s semi-autonomy should separatist parties achieve a parliamentary majority.
“Rajoy has long faced demands from the Spanish right-wing to take a tough stance on Catalonia, so he did so even though he knows it’s a flawed approach because ultimately some kind of compromise will be needed to solve the problem in the long term,” said Juan Rodriguez Teruel, professor of political sciences at the University of Valencia.
“If separatist parties maintain their current support or even expand it, the first political victim will probably be Rajoy, because critics from within the PP and its opponents like Cuidadanos, which have been very tough on this issue, will blame him.”
With the vote too close to call and having blundered in declaring independence in October – a move that highlighted the separatists’ inability to break unilaterally from Spain – pro-independence parties were equivocal when asked what will happen post-election.
“The results of the new elections are crucial to re-open political negotiations with the Spanish government,” said Jordi Xucla, a spokesman for Junts per Catalunya.
Leftist Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, whose former president Lluis Companys was executed by Spanish fascists in 1940, indicated it would push Madrid to agree to a legally binding referendum should voters return another pro-independence majority.
“Let’s hope the democratic responsibility of the Spanish state will push it to open a real democratic dialogue,” said spokesman Ernest Maragall.