I firmly believe that we have all the right in the world to hold a consultation, a referendum, or whatever you want to call it, to find out the majority sentiment of the Catalan people, and then act on it. What's more, we have enough arguments, social backing, and institutional support to do it. But it's important to do things well, especially because the way in which we do them will affect the internal support that we could have, the allies for the democratic cause that we might drum up in the rest of Spain, and finally any potential international, and particularly European, partners and allies.
Based on what has been my European experience over the past few years, I believe that, rather than arguments based on identity (easily manipulated) or finances (susceptible to being turned against you in the name of interregional solidarity), what will be most convincing to outside forces are attributes such as credibility and democratic responsibility.
In this sense, my reading of the cases involving Pujol (fraud), Pallerols (corruption), and the Palau (embezzlement) is that they show us that some have to undergo a deep self-examination in Catalonia, too. We have to face up to the fact that fraud and corruption are Catalan problems too, not just Spanish ones. Furthermore, we should acknowledge the historic error of wanting to associate an entire country with one party, even with one surname, thus undervaluing the great plurality of social and political identities that make up Catalonia today. On the other hand, the appearance of groups such as Free and Equal, or the repeated and unequivocal statements from the Spanish President, and also from the leaders of the PSOE, show that Catalonia's room for maneuver to find its own, singular way of fitting into a plural Spain is getting smaller, if there is any at all.
In other words: where the process is truly being played out, both within Spain and internationally, is in the credibility and responsibility demonstrated by the social and institutional players charged with leading the process.
It is essential to gain credibility. The Pujol and Palau affairs, among others, show us that we have much work to do. The process must serve to provide us with the necessary mechanisms to prevent these types of cases from happening again. If we want to be credible, we have to do everything in an exemplary manner, including the fight against fraud and corruption. It's not just about breaking with a statewide institutional system that is clearly broken, but it is even more about recovering the public's belief in politics in general, and in our institutions in particular.
Regarding responsibility: this has a lot to do with the need to have a long-term view that goes far beyond 9 November. Assuming a hypothetical situation in which a separation is achieved, Catalonia will have to reach an agreement to assume its fair share of the assets, but also its fair share of the responsibilities (read: debt). I believe that we should take into account that in the short- and mid-term, the principal ally of Catalonia (both within the EU and on the international stage) will be, logically, Spain. And vice-versa. This is true for geo-strategic and economic reasons, our political trajectory, and especially for the enormous preexisting personal connections that we share. I'm not saying that this alliance will be immediate, or even easy; but if there is one thing that we can learn from the experiences of Scandinavia, the Baltic states, and the Balkans, among others, is that in the end there is a natural tendency to trust in those most closely connected to you, in spite of everything. This, logically, will take time to develop, and will be conditioned by how events play out. What I'm defending here, in any case, is that it must not be for lack of our own will that this mutual understanding and alliance not be reached.
Finally, I also have the impression that if we act in a credible and responsible manner, it will be easier for us to explain to the European Union that it will benefit, too, if Catalonia and Spain have a good relationship instead of a new episode of territorial tensions that block progress (I'm thinking, for example, of the case of Cyprus and the Greco-Turk confrontation, among other debates that are clearly uncomfortable for everyone). As a result, it will be easier for Europe to go along with a credible and responsible democratic process rather than feed the tensions between Catalonia and Spain even more.
So, in matters that depend on us, such as democratic credibility and responsibility, it will serve us well to do them the right way, without excuses or delays.
