Antoni Bassas

The Yes and the risk of the split

3 min

The PP and Ciudadanos knew that Spain’s Constitutional Court (TC, in Spanish) would allow the Catalan parliament to go ahead and debate the breakaway declaration on Monday next week. Otherwise it would have stirred a huge scandal on an international level. If the Spanish state had suspended Catalonia’s powers or banned a parliamentary debate preemptively, the Baltic and Balkans nations in Europe --as well as some Scandinavian countries-- would have seen it as a red line being crossed

Still, even though the TC’s decision was a sure thing, the PP and Ciudadanos travelled to Madrid to lodge their complaint. Theirs was a trip to rake in votes for Spain’s general election of December 20. The PSC did not file the same appeal, but they tagged along, anyway. All three were after a photo op, even if it meant revealing their true motives. Theirs was an electoral misuse of the Constitutional Court --yes, I know, everything has some electoral value in politics, but some cases are just blatantly obvious.

Iceta, Albiol and Arrimadas (1) didn’t seem to mind making a fool of themselves by forcing the Court to work for no reason. In particular, Albiol didn’t mind it at all, not even when Rajoy said that “my government will only file an appeal once we are certain to win it”.

Incidentally, this is exactly what will happen next week, once the Catalan parliament has passed the resolution: Rajoy will file an appeal and it will be upheld. So courts and judges will make headlines again in the coming days, although this time the consequences might be more severe. Thanks to the “Albiol reform” passed by the PP --practically on its own and against every constitutional practice known in a democracy--, the TC has been endowed with sanctioning powers.

Such disagreements are no laughing matter because they put a strain on everything. Still, that’s not the end of it. Worst of all is the persistent lack of political initiative to tackle the problem between Catalonia and Spain: 48 per cent of Catalans voted for independence in September.

The response of the secessionist parties is a problem, too. The “Yes” bloc is in danger of an internal split. Within the parties and in the street. Next week there will be two votes to elect the president of Catalonia and, unless there is an unexpected turn of events, neither vote will see a president elected. And, therefore, we will remain without a government. Last Friday CUP spokesperson Anna Gabriel made it very clear: the CUP will not elect Mas, no matter how many votes are held. Naturally, Together for Yes (TFY) insist that it is their candidate, Artur Mas, who must be president. Today I wrote that, beyond her actual words, I have been trying to make sense of Gabriel’s intended meaning. I can sense hostility between two systems, two worlds, the damage caused by personal differences and past political decisions that have led us to the current stalemate.

There is fear of tainting the process and tainting oneself with someone else’s dirt. There is anger about being blamed for an election result that fell short of what TFY needed on September 27. An inferiority that prevents their narrative from prevailing. The vertigo of responsibility. And, I might add, the relative inexperience of political compromise between radically different positions, the fear of betraying one’s principles and failing to meet expectations. The voting in of a president puts a strain on the CUP, where not everyone feels the same way. I know. Likewise, not everyone in TFY agrees on what to do, if Mas remains a hurdle. That’s why I wrote that there is a risk of a split in the Yes bloc. And in the streets, the smiling revolution has seen its smile freeze; and it can only get worse, if they engage in a race of told-you-so and finger-pointing, following two unsuccessful votes.

We mustn’t forget that the strain caused by the political breakup is compounded, here and there, by episodes of social unrest: Madrid threatens to pull the plug on Catalonia’s much-needed additional funding (FLA), while pharmacies in Catalonia are expected to advance the payment of the drugs they have sold prescribed through the national health service.

Next Monday it’ll be November 9. The same date a year ago was a momentous day that finally managed to bring the Catalan issue to the world’s attention. A year later, November 9 will be tougher, rougher and, for now, less promising.

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(1) N.T. The Catalan leaders of the PSC, the PP and Ciudadanos, respectively.

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