There’s a particular type of Spanish male – referred to recently by John Chappell in his Iberian Notes blog – who makes ludicrous claims and then dogmatically defends them with arguments that are clearly specious. The lovely Spanish word for these is fantasma, literally ‘ghost’. Related [and equally lovely] words – for boaster/braggart/ loudmouth – are fantoche and fanfarron. All of these begin, of course, with ‘f’. Which presents a pleasing symmetry. Interestingly [to me, at least], the Galician for ‘to talk’ is falar. This also begins with ‘f’, whereas the Spanish is hablar. But, then, many words in Galician retain the initial ‘f’ of the Latin which has been transmuted into ‘h’ in Spanish. As in Facienda for the Tax Office. A common word at this time of the year. I do hope all this garners me some points before I post my compilation on Galician nationalism.
A good example yesterday of the Net ‘em and suck ‘em dry strategy so popular with Spanish companies. My broadband provider has increased my monthly cost by initiating a charge for phone calls. The mechanism is the common one of eliminating a discount not mentioned in my contract and which only first appeared in my bills two months after the start of the service. Readers won’t be surprised to hear this ploy was pioneered by Telefonica. The upshot is I now pay more than customers starting today and getting three times my bandwidth. And I just know that, if I want to change to this, I will be charged for cancelling my old service and starting a new one. And it will all have to be done via a premium phone line. So you can imagine how I feel this morning when my internet speed is about one third of what I should receive and I can’t connect to my email server. Customers? What on earth are they? It’s at times like this I have my strongest fears the Spanish economic boom won’t last when it’s more dependent on exports. Meanwhile, though, we’ve just been told it’s still steaming away at 4% a year. However, real estate and construction share prices continue to fall. So, good news and even better news.
While I’m moaning . . . The domain provider for my Galicia web page has just sent me a bill for excess usage. This turns out to be for 35,000 junk email messages to an address I never even knew I had. And it took an hour of my life to get rid of it. I’m a huge fan of the internet but doesn’t it drive you mad at times!
Here’s my latest 3-year compilation, this time on CATALUNIA & CATALUNIAN NATIONALISM. I’ve decided to include in this all references to language developments, so as to give a complete picture of what seems to be happening up in the north east. But I’ve not added all the [overlapping] posts already included in the compilation on Basque Nationalism. So, maybe this merits a prior read, if you’re seriously interested in this subject. . .
2004
Outside the Basque country, one of the leading lights in the new socialist consortium in Catalunia has just been driven out of office for meeting with representatives of ETA there. The inference drawn is that a deal was being negotiated to avoid atrocities in Catalunia, though the politician in question insists that he was only [and legitimately] negotiating peace. The rest of Spain is less than impressed with this explanation, though Socialist voters harbour suspicions that news of the illegal meeting was leaked to the media by the government in the run-up to the next general election. This would be more convincing if there were any evidence that the Socialist party [PSOE] stood much of a chance in said election. But the truth is that, rather like the Tories in the UK until very recently, they have long seemed incapable of laying a glove on a government that has survived, for example, the Prestige oil tanker disaster and involvement in a war disfavoured by a mere 94 per cent of the population.
The ever-opportunist government of Catalunia has upped its demands for recognition of its separate status from the ‘Kingdom of Spain’. Its long shopping list includes recognition of Catalan as a EU language and, by analogy with Scotland, a separate football team for all international competitions. And there are rumours that Catalunia will emphasise its separateness by announcing - on behalf of Barcelona - a rival bid to Valencia’s for the Americas Cup venue. In the European elections of last week, several of the ‘nationalist’ parties got together to form a block that would press for greater local autonomy from Brussels. In Spain, though, ‘nationalist’ doesn’t mean ‘national’ but ‘regional’. In other words, they don’t just want greater autonomy for the Spanish state but for their own regions. Can this be what the EU founding fathers really intended? Of course, the demands of the Catalunian government are still only a pale shadow of those of its opposite number in the Basque country. Put briefly, this simply want absolutely nothing to do with Spain. One frequently wonders where all will this end
In Catalunia, several dozen local mayors have chosen not to fly the Spanish flag at some major ‘national’ celebration this week. And the Catalunian President has suggested that Spain agrees to Catalunia ‘divorcing’ itself from Spain and becoming, I guess, a discrete unit of the EU. Where will it all end, I wonder? Meanwhile, it does seem that the new Spanish President is reaping the harvest he sowed when he showed himself sympathetic to secessionist aspirations when he was nestling in the comfort of opposition and must have felt he had very little chance of being invited to put his money where his mouth had been. But the Madrid bombings changed all that.
“Nationalism” in Spain doesn’t actually mean national, but regional - as in the Basque, Catalunian and Galician nations/regions. All of these see themselves – in various degrees - as successors to the original kingdoms which were shoe-horned into modern Spain. I asked a few days ago where all this nationalism would end. Well, we won’t know for a while but there was an instructive – not to say amusing – event in the European parliament yesterday. A speaker from Catalunia chose to speak in German rather than Spanish but so execrable was his accent that the Portuguese President of the session assumed he was speaking Catalan and told him this wasn’t an officially recognised language. I suppose a UK equivalent would be a Sinn Fein MP talking in the House of Commons in Norwegian rather than English. All very rum.
Meanwhile, back in the Tower of Babel, the most separatist of the Catalunian political parties has rejected out of hand the suggestion that Valencian is a distinct language from Catalan. Presumably it doesn’t help their case for independence if Catalunia is seen to extend to the Balearic Islands and down the east coast of Spain.
Chip, chip. At the request of the Spanish government, the Guest of Honour at the 2006 or 2007 Frankfurt Book Fair will be the ‘Culture of Catalunia’, though specifically not ‘Catalunia’ itself. I trust the Culture of Galicia will get a look in within the next decade.
In the latest attempt to differentiate itself from Spain, Catalunia has said that it will be seeking the .cat designation for email addresses and web pages. What next, as I keep asking.
What next in Catalunia Section: The government of Catalunia has joined forces with those of Aragón, the Balearic Islands and two provinces in southern France to form the Euro-Region of The Mediterranean Pyrenees. Their sole purpose is said to be to lobby Brussels for more money for local development. Of course.
The Tower of Babel: The Spanish government has sent two Catalan translations of the European Constitution to Brussels. One is from the government of Catalunia and the other from the government of Valencia, down the east coast. The purpose of this nonsense, I suppose, is to ensure recognition of separate identities. It’s as if North Wales and South Wales sent identical translations in Welsh. How satisfying, then, to read today that the people of North East England have roundly rejected the opportunity to set out on this crazy road by having a huge ‘regional assembly’. Perhaps they took stock of what has happened nearby in Scotland since they got their own parliament.
Tower of Babel: An editorial in today’s El Pais pointed out that no one would expect Mexico or Chile to differentiate their language from Spanish at the UN and asked why Catalan and Valencian had to be differentiated from Spanish at the EU, especially as they are identical. Quite rightly, it pointed out that this madness could only weaken the acceptance of Spanish in the Community. Incidentally, the discussion of this subject has thrown up the fact that, in addition to the Royal Academy of the Spanish Language, each of several Autonomous Communities has its own counterpart. Needless to say, Catalunia and Valencia have one each, even though their tongues are identical. As does Galicia.
The Language Wars: The government of Catalunia has published a bill under which people in Catalunia would have a ‘right’ to speak Catalan and a ‘duty’ to understand both Spanish and Catalan. This is rather like the Welsh parliament demanding that everyone in Wales learn Welsh. Rather disingenuously, they say that no one will be compelled to actually speak Catalan. Maybe not but non-Catalan Spaniards already complain that the locals refuse to talk to them in Spanish and this development will surely help to justify such bloody-mindedness. And the example will undoubtedly be followed – in the fullness of time - in both the Basque country and Galicia
The Language Wars: The Catalunian government has now said they will freeze the state’s Budget process unless a central government minister pronounces that Valencian doesn’t exist and is only a variant of Catalan. Curiouser and curiouser, said Alice.
An interesting banner at the big Barcelona-Madrid soccer game tonight. Knowing that few people would understand Catalan and preferring to die rather than put anything in Spanish, the authors had opted for English. It read “Catalunia is not part of Spain”. Which reminds me, it’s now official that Catalan and Valencian are the same language. An amusing cartoon in El Pais today featured just a Catalan-Valencian dictionary.
This week Spain celebrates its return to democracy in the late 70s. So it’s fitting that El Mundo today reported that 75% of Spaniards are against Catalunia being given ‘separate nation’ status via any reform of the Constitution which enshrines this democracy.
A leader of one of the Catalunian ‘nationalist’ parties this week urged fellow Catalunians not to support Madrid’s candidacy for the 2012 Olympic Games. Apart from whatever else it was, this was a masterpiece of poor timing. In the run-up to Christmas, the immediate reaction from the rest of Spain was a boycott of the Spanish version of champagne, cava, which is only brewed in the north east. Under pressure from the producers, a humiliating retraction was hastily arranged, leaving most of Spain in one great smirk.
The Socialist government of Mr Zapatero seems far more willing than Mr Aznar’s to play the word games initiated by the Basque and Catalunian nationalist parties. So, we’re all becoming increasingly familiar with phrases such as ‘Spanish Nation’, ‘Associated State’ and [my favourite] ‘Plurinational State’. Or ‘Spain’ to you and me. I fear it can only end in tears.
Spain’s Civil War papers are kept in an archive in Salamanca. The government has just acceded to the demand of the Catalunian government that ‘their’ papers be returned to them. This has unleashed an avalanche of similar requests from all over Spain. One commentator has expressed the fear that it’s the beginning of the dismemberment of all Spain’s museums, including El Prado. The chap in charge of the Salamanca archive has erected metal railings around the door of the building, insisting that work needs to be done on dangerous paving stones. Given that the appeals process around the Catalunian papers alone is expected to take three years, one wonders why he’s assumed a siege position at such an early stage.
2005
What chance Damage to Catalunia? Buildings are collapsing in central Barcelona, local politicians are competing with ever-larger accusations of illegal commissions and now their football team has been booted out of the Champions’ Cup by Chelsea. I doubt, though, that the rest of Spain is too disappointed with all this. Quietly laughing, more likely.
The government of Catalunia has demanded its status be changed from that of un nacionalidad [‘an autonomous region’, according to the dictionary] to that of un nación, or nation. I wonder what next year’s demand will be. Its own embassies in Brussels and Madrid, perhaps.
As part of their strategy of creeping secession, the Catalan government has demanded responsibility for collecting all local taxes, after which they will give Madrid a ‘maximum of 50%’. More insidious, perhaps, is their plan to make the speaking of Catalan compulsory for all residents. Catalunia today, the Basque Country next year. And Galicia in a decade or two.
More madness from Catalunia last week. The local government has demanded the region be given the web dominion ‘ct.’ as if they were a real country. And in Israel one of the leading politicians walked out of an event when only the Spanish flag was flown. I guess we can expect more of this childishness.
As I was musing on Spanish efficiency yesterday [I’m been waiting 2 months for an estimate], I asked myself what the standard reaction would be to the statement that time is money. Outside Catalunia, the Basque country and, possibly Madrid, I would guess a blank stare of total incomprehension. Or perhaps a dismissal of this attitude as ‘ultraliberal nonsense’.
In Catalunia, they celebrated their national day today, with calls from leading politicians for a return to the glory days of the ‘country’ and with the traditional burning of the Spanish flag by extremists. A new Statute of cohabitation is currently being negotiated between the central government and the ruling coalition of the ‘autonomous region’ but one wonders whether this will satisfy local demand. And, if not, where it will all end.
I see the Catalunian politicians pushing for ever more independence now refer to Catalunia as a pais [country], a nación [nation] and a patria [homeland]. And have even suggested it has all the attributes of an Estado [state]. So poverty of ambition doesn’t seem to be their biggest problem.
Can anyone English or Spanish acquaint me with the difference between ‘a nation’ and ‘a nationality’? According to the Spanish government, Catalunia can only be the latter as the former is reserved for the Spanish state.
Asturias is not unique in having a national anthem. All of Spain’s regions [or ‘Autonomous Communities’] have one, as well as their own flag. Some give the Spanish flag equal prominence and some [e.g. Catalunia] just burn it. The ‘localism’ I’ve mentioned twice recently demands that greater loyalty be afforded to the regional standard than to the national flag, whether intact or in burnt tatters. To an Englishman [unless he’s from Yorkshire, perhaps] the idea of a county anthem or flag is just too preposterous for words but I guess it’s possible the American States do more than just issue number plates with odd slogans on them.
Ironically, as thousands of Africans are trying to break into Spain, Catalunia is hell bent on breaking out. Yesterday, after much wrangling, the local political parties agreed the draft of a new Statute determining the region’s relationship with the Spanish state. Amongst a number of ‘provocations’ are provisions averring Catalunia is a nation and everyone there has not just a right but also an obligation to speak Catalunian. So, the region is now on full collision course with the government. Perhaps, then, it’s appropriate the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on the Constitution is called Guerra. Or ‘War’.
Our weather in September was spectacular, with a great deal of sun and very little rain. The dark side of this, of course, is that Spain’s draught situation has worsened and water restrictions are now in place throughout much of the country. Perhaps not up in the north east, where [as in neighbouring France] the weather has become rather more unstable and stormy than it used to be. God’s punishment for secessionist endeavours?
Catalunian politicians have said they know their new Statute will be rejected by the government but don’t care. They’re hell bent on being the first state in a truly federal Spain. In this battle labels are, of course, important and government ministers and judges have said Catalunia can’t be a state as this is reserved to Spain under the 1979 Constitution. I have the perfect solution to this. In Spanish, ‘state’ is one of a bizarre group of words [such as ‘Army’] which merit a capital letter. So, why not have Spain as the ‘Estado’ and Catalunia as an ‘estado’? Or, if you don’t like this, why not take advantage of the wonderful diminutive suffixes of Spanish? So, Spain could be the ‘Estado’ and Catalunia an ‘Estadito’. Of course, Galicia [already parroting federalist aspirations] would have to use the Gallego form and be an ‘Estadíño´. Or maybe just an '‘Estadíñ". Sorted!
The Spanish President this week rejected the notion that Catalunia can be a ‘nation’, as this is reserved to the Spanish state. Interestingly, the Spanish word ‘nación’ doesn’t merit a capital letter, whereas ‘Estado’ [state] does. I’d be interested in the explanation for this.
The Spanish President – Mr Zapatero – insists Catalunia’s demand to be called a ‘nation’ is not as problematic as some think. Indeed, he says he has at least 8 formulas for meeting the apparently opposing wishes of both the Catalans and the rest of the Spanish people. I heard one inelegant option being discussed on the radio tonight – ‘Catalunia is a nation constituted as an autonomous community’. If this is the best they can do, it strikes me they need a lot more lawyers here. Meanwhile, Mr Zapatero was booed by sections of the crowd at yesterday’s National Day celebrations in Madrid. Maybe they’d had advance notice of the 8 formulas.
And talking of nonsense…..For those with a high boredom threshold, here are more of Mr Zapatero’s formulas for meeting Catalunia’s demand that it be called a ‘nation’ in its new constitution:-
- Catalunia is a national community
- Catalunia is a community with national ‘entity-ness’
- Catalunia is a community with a national identity
- Catalunia is a national reality
- Catalunia is a singular national entity
And the very best…
- Catalunia is a nation within the nation of nations which is Spain
I’m reminded of something in my early religious education about the number of angels which can fit on a pin head. The equivalent in Spanish, I’m told, is arguing about which sex angels are. And then there is the scene in The life of Brian where the Monty Python team argue about whether they’re members of the Palestine National Front or one of several variants. If it wasn’t so important, it would be hilarious.
More strange developments from Catalunia. Within days of securing the local parliament’s approval of the new Constitution to be sent for [non]ratification by the Spanish parliament, the President has ruffled all the feathers in a crowded dovecot by announcing changes to the cabinet which hadn’t even been seen – never mind approved – by his two coalition partners. I guess the earlier success had gone to his head.
The effort required to get approval for their new Constitution appears to have been too much for the several coalition parties in Catalunia. Even before their proposal has been considered by the Spanish parliament, they’ve taken to ferocious squabbling about the plans of the president of the local government to change his cabinet. Even his own party has disowned him and he now faces calls for at least a vote of censure and, at worst, his resignation. Difficult people, these Catalans. Probably comes from being close to France.
The opposition party has been accused of stirring up ‘Catalan-phobia’. But it possibly doesn’t need to. One of the main producers of Spain’s version of champagne, which all comes from Catalunia, has been insisting for some time that it’s ‘as much Spanish as any other product’. Christmas is on the horizon and last year the rest of the country boycotted the product.
The President of Barcelona Football Club has not only permitted but encouraged displays of Catalunian nationalism at their ground. My friend Andrew has suggested the national football authority takes this to its logical conclusion and expels them from the Spanish league. They could then play against . . . well, their reserve team.
On this issue du jour, there now comes a demand for recognition of Greater Catalunia, which would encompass
Catalunia has achieved its first recognition as a country by an international sports body. But, as the latter is the International Federation of Korfball, this may not amount to much of a precedent. Especially as, on their website [www.ikf.org], the federations wimps out and opts for the term ‘Catalonia (Spain)’.
A reader has said he looks forward to both Scotland and Catalunia having a seat at the United Nations. Well, maybe it’s because I have a MacDonald for a grandmother, but, while I can see a case for Scotland being independent again, I can’t see why Catalunia has any greater claim than, say, Yorkshire. Or the Isle of Man, for that matter. Can I really look forward to ending my days as the Foreign Minister for the nation of Merseyside? Actually, the Scotland/Catalunia comparison does point up the anomaly I’ve recently discussed with Spanish friends, viz. that, whilst Scotland and Wales are [to my mind] real nations, they have less autonomy than the Spanish Communities/regions. But this does rather endorse the point that you don’t have to be a member of the United Nations to have control over your affairs.
On this same issue, Jesus has taken me to task [ I think] for equating Spain’s Communities with British counties. Some of them, he stresses, have different languages and features. Maybe so. But this doesn’t make them countries or nations, as the terms are universally used. Are the Swiss cantons to be countries along the French, German, Italian divide? Is the UK county of Cornwall to be a country because they used to speak a Gaelic language [Cornish] totally unrelated to English? Ditto the Isle of Man because they still do [Manx]. Is Brittany in France to be a country because it was settled [hence the name] from Britain and they still speak Breton there? Is Quebec to be a country because the people are ‘different’ from the Anglo Canadians and speak French? Is Texas to be a country because of its Mexican history? Will California become a country when the majority speak Spanish? And so on and so on. My point in raising these questions is not to prove I’m right and Jesus [or anyone else] is wrong but to show how difficult it is to prove a place is a country on the basis of historical and current ‘differences’. What Basque, Catalunian and Galician nationalists seem to gloss over is that Scotland and Wales were independent countries/nations for hundreds of years before they became part of the UK. More to the point, they still are. A quick glance at any atlas will show you this. In the UK, the historical origins and differences are dealt with via honorific titles. So, Wales is a Principality as well as a country and Prince Charles’ title is The Prince of Wales. Similarly, Cornwall is a Duchy [Guess who’s the Duke]. Here in Spain, the heir to the throne is the Prince of Asturias, his wife is the Princess and their new baby, I guess, is the Princesita. It seems to keep the Asturians happy. Maybe there’s a lesson here. Sure as eggs is eggs, giving every place which wants it the name and status of nation isn’t going to solve any underlying problems. Not unless you think the world would be improved by having 3,000 nations participating in an everlasting committee in New York.
Earlier this week – in the face of a continuing boycott outside the region - the CEO of a cava company stressed the product is as Spanish as it is Catalunian. For this, he was roundly criticised by the President of the local government. Perhaps he’ll be arrested for treason next. And at yesterday’s meeting of the International Ice Hockey Federation, Catalunia’s request for nation status was voted down. They did get the support of Albania and one or two obscure African states but this was possibly not unconnected with the fact the Catalunian federation had paid for the delegates’ plane tickets.
UNESCO has ruled that the ‘Galician Portuguese oral tradition’ doesn’t rank as a ‘Masterpiece of world verbal and intangible heritage’. Neither does Andalucian music and flamenco dancing. But they did give the nod to the Festa da Patum de Berga, in Catalunia. This must be very gratifying for the Catalunians and pretty disappointing for the Galicians, Portuguese and Andalucians but I can’t help wondering how many lives are much affected by the decisions.
You might think the bickering 25 members of the EU have enough on their plate without getting involved in even larger negotiations. But, no, they’ve all been meeting along with 10 other countries in a Mediterranean Summit in Barcelona. I suppose, if the Catalunian government had had their way, this would have been 11.
Spain is naturally annoyed that Spanish is treated by Brussels as only an ‘official language’, of lower status than English, German and French, the ‘working languages’ of the EU. Now Brussels has fanned the linguistic flames by announcing the number of Spanish interpreters will be reduced by a third. Can this possibly be connected with Spain’s success in having Catalan, Basque and Gallego treated as official languages, on a par with Spanish? Swings and roundabouts, perhaps. ‘Chickens’ and ‘roost’ spring to mind. In a nice touch, Spain’s Minister of Industry yesterday stressed in the European parliament that Spanish is the language of over 300m people. But he did so whilst speaking in Catalan.
In Catalunia, a parliamentary committee has recommended a national radio station be prosecuted for ‘denigrating Catalunia and its political representatives’. Interesting to get a glimpse of how these self-important proponents of independence for the region would operate democracy once they had total control. I have this vision of Catalunia achieving the status to which they aspire and then immediately being booted out of the EU for being a fascist state.
This year’s big Xmas lottery winner was Catalunia, which garnered both the first and the third of the five humongous prizes. This should, at least, allow them to drink enough of their champagne [Cava] to compensate for the boycott which continues in the rest of the country as a protest against their anti-Spain secessionist plans.
The governments of Spain and Catalunia are nearing the end of their negotiations around a new Constitution [El Estatut] which will determine the legal relationship between them. The parties involved are so numerous and the issues so arcane, it’s impossible to say where exactly things are. The view of the left-wing paper, El Pais, is that it’s all over bar agreement on such trivial issues as finance, whereas the right-wing paper, El Mundo, feels the parties are so far apart there’s no chance of them reaching an agreement. So, take your pick.
2006
An eminent British historian has suggested that, as Scotland freely relinquished its independence a couple of hundred years ago, it should now stop pretending to be a real country. Presumably, it would simply then be a region of the UK. If so, the comparisons regularly made here between Catalunia or and Scotland would carry more conviction than at present. Though this would not necessarily appeal to those who are in the habit of making these comparisons.
The army’s No. 2 has put his foot in it by suggesting that, if things go too far with the revision of the constitutional arrangements between Catalunia and the Spanish state, the military forces will have to look to their legal obligation to defend the interests of the state. In a country where there’s, understandably, a high degree of sensitivity to political pronouncements by military personnel, his demotion is inevitable. The Left have virtually accused him of plotting a coup d’etat, though the Right have said he’s merely voicing understandable concerns, widespread amongst the public. Whatever, it seems likely that he’ll now have to de-scabbard his ceremonial sword and fall on it.
The Catalunian government is reported to have examined patient records to check on whether doctors are complying with an obligation to favour Catalan over Spanish. There is a line somewhere between the legitimate promotion of a regional/national language in a ‘plurinational’ state and what amounts to abuse. The UK, for example, has faced this issue with Welsh and English in Wales. But in this instance, the line appears to have been well and truly crossed, especially as patient permission was not sought. This is a potentially criminal offence but it also raises the question of just how far the Catalan nationalists are prepared to go in pursuit of their goals. As it happens, I read this view today in a book about ‘reality and delusion in the course of history’. Most people will have come across – and many novelists have written about – the types who seek power in a village, or a college or a business, often with a high level of self-justification. In a state-wide – or continent-wide – bureaucracy, there is a great deal of room for this unfortunate temperament.
Only a fool would hazard a guess as to where Spain will be in 20 years’ time but I don’t suppose many would have predicted the post-Franco ‘Transition’ would still, in effect, be continuing nearly 30 years after his death. A cartoon in El Mundo today neatly captured the situation. It showed Spain with the following caption written across it – “Nation (unique) of alleged nationalities and regions en route to metamorphosis”. Not exactly rib-tickling but to the point.
The Catalans would like their new Constitution to contain a provision giving everyone living there the ‘duty’ [deber] to learn Catalan. This is something which I don’t think any national government in the British Isles [including the Irish government] has ever even considered in respect of Welsh, Gaelic or Manx. And I don’t suppose the old Cornish county council ever thought of obliging every resident to speak Cornish. The president, Mr Zapatero, appears to be disposed to accepting this demand, saying it won’t change a thing as it will be a duty without sanctions for non-compliance. So why have it, other than to cock a snook at Spain? Of course, Mr Z may be the only person outside Catalunia who believes this.
The book I quoted the other day finishes with the following paragraph. Reading it, I couldn’t help thinking of Spain and the semi-tribalistic attitudes which seem to underlie much of what is happening here at the moment:- Everywhere we always find the human urges to preserve at least a measure of personal autonomy, on the one hand, and to form communal relationships, on the other. It is the latter which tends to get out of hand. To form a national or other such grouping without forfeiting liberties and without generating venom against other such groupings – such is the problem before the world. To cope with it, we need careful thinking, balanced understanding and open yet unservile minds. One wonders how much of these are around in Catalunia and the Basque Country right now.
Suddenly the country’s fall of martyrs. A doctor in Catalunia, after three months of hitting his head against the wall, has said he’ll go on hunger strike because his daughter’s school has refused to meet its legal duty to teach her Spanish. This obligation is apparently enshrined in three different constitutional documents, proving just how useful these are when there’s no political will to abide by them.
The latest inter-regional spat to capture the headlines – though it’s been simmering for months – is between Castile y León and [who else?] Catalunia. It concerns the latter’s demands that documents from the state archive be transferred from Salamanca to Barcelona. Meanwhile, negotiations over the Catalunian Constitution seem to heading for a messy end, proving [once again] you can make all the people unhappy all the time. And the third senior army official in a week or so has been sacked for interfering in politics. All in all, I have some sympathy with an editorial in today’s El Mundo suggesting Spain is going backwards down a time tunnel. They attribute this, of course, to the country’s mismanagement by President Zapatero. In particular to his pandering to the nationalist [i. e. regionalist] coalition partners who keep him in power.
Back up in Catalunia, it’s emerged the government there has instituted a system under which selected pupil-narks monitor how much Catalan and Spanish their teachers use. And, on a larger stage, they’ve rejected the state President’s suggestion that their new Constitution contains the statement ‘The citizens of Catalunia feel that Catalunia is a nation’. This, they retort, is ‘aggressive and lacking in respect for Catalunia.’ Am I the only person to whom the words Nazi, Hitler and Sudetenland spring to mind? Not to mention ‘tin pot dictators’. The only good news emerging from that part of Spain is that negotiations on the Catalan side are in the hands of a four-party coalition and President Zapatero finally seems to have understood the merits of the old British strategy of divide and rule.
There’s much rejoicing today – in this household at least – that negotiations over the new Catalunian Constitution have ended. It’s certainly a good thing for Catalunia but opinions, to say the least, are divided as to whether it’s good for Spain. The Galician President says he thinks it is but, then, he’s next in line for an increase in devolved power. On the key issue of the status of Catalunia, the preamble contains this masterpiece of fudge – “The Catalan parliament, recognising the feelings and the will of the citizens of Catalunia, has defined Catalunia as a nation. This national reality has been translated in Article 2 of the Spanish Constitution, which defines Catalunia as a nationality.” If he weren’t dead, I’d suspect Lewis Carroll of having a hand in this.
Moving from this model of clarity to the divisive issue of language, I’m not entirely clear what’s been decided. But it seems that henceforth, if you live in Catalunia, you will have an obligation to learn both ‘co-official’ languages, Catalan and Spanish. I would have thought this made eminent sense as a personal decision, freely taken. But as an obligation? Is there anywhere else in the world where citizens are legally compelled to learn even one language, never mind two?
To end on a positive note . . . I’m reading Paul Preston’s excellent Concise History of the Spanish Civil War. Not for the first time it’s struck me that, given the astonishingly violent nature of Spanish society long before, during and even after the Civil War – it’s a huge testament to the intelligence, wisdom and maturity of the Spanish people that Spain is the peaceful democracy it now is. And I can’t see any of the above regionalist shenanigans changing this. Even if pluralism does morph into federalism.
Not everyone in Catalunia is thrilled with the agreement reached over the new Constitution. Most unhappy appears to be the leader of the ERC, a long-established left-wing party which was, until this week, the partner of the governing Socialist party in the region. Accusing President Zapatero of treachery, he has picked up his bat and walked off the pitch. I did say the other day that ‘Bambi’ Zapatero had resorted to British-style divide and rule tactics and I’m now left wondering whether he’s had lessons from Tony Blair on how to hoodwink one’s partners.
The agreement also ruffled feathers in the opposition PP party, when their President in Catalunia [Spain is a country of a million presidents] took a more lenient view of it than right wing elements of the party in Madrid. However, feathers have now been smoothed and the re-unified PP party has demanded a nationwide referendum on the document. When it was suggested this would be illegal/unconstitutional, it quickly became a petition calling for a referendum. Can’t see it happening, myself.
President Z. has described the Constitution as being ‘as clean as a paten’. Having just looked it up, I know the latter is the plate on which the Eucharist is placed at Mass. But I’m lost as to what the whole phrase means.
Faced with the prospect of a several rounds of Regional Leap Frog and Beggar My Regional Neighbour, the Council of State has suggested the Spanish Constitution be changed so as to place a ceiling on the powers of the region. They seem unaware that, in politics, maxima have a habit of becoming minima. And, anyway, the lid is already off the pressure cooker.
As if to prove this, representatives of each of the more regionalist/nationalist Autonomous Communities have come together in a group calling itself GALEUSCAT. If you haven’t worked this out, they’re from the ‘nations’ of Galicia, the Basque Country [Euskadi] and Catalunia. One of their activities will be to lobby supranational bodies like the EU in Brussels. In 3 languages not understood there, I guess.
Only in Spain?: The government of Catalunia has issued a 2006 calendar which not only refers to the anniversary of a brothel but also contains ads for its wide range of services, including ‘shows eróticos’. But at least it doesn’t, like all our local papers, features dozens of pictures of transvestites who’d be at home in the UK’s Lib Dem party.
Along with the other autonomy-minded regions/countries /nationalities/nations of the Basque Country and , Catalunia suffered greatly under Franco’s fascism. So it seems rather ironic the government there should now be indulging in measures such as a new law to make it compulsory for all university professors to speak Catalan. In other words, suppressing teaching in Spanish. Perhaps the Catalans – who are famous for their common sense [seny] – lack a sense of irony.
Finally, a couple of Gallegos have gently taken issue with me for my comments yesterday about Franco’s repression in the Basque Country and Catalunia. I should make it clear that, as my friend Portorosa had guessed, I was talking only about suppression of local cultures/languages. I wasn’t making any comment at all on the differing degrees of appalling atrocity visited by Franco’s rebel army on the cities that resisted it. Nor on the post-war industrial policies of Franco’s totalitarian regime.
I see the northern Italian region of Alto Adigio has sought the ‘protection and tutelage’ of Austria. I wonder whether we can shortly expect to see a similar request from Catalunia in the direction of France. Or perhaps Angora. And from Celtic towards Ireland. Though I guess it’s unlikely Gibraltar will ever seek the protection and tutelage of nearby Morocco, once the British government finally achieves its aim of getting shut of the troublesome place.
Negotiation of a new constitution for the autonomous community [i. e. region] of Valencia seems to have gone off relatively peacefully. Needless to say, though, there was a problem around the language of Valencian. This was resolved by referring to it as the ‘idioma Valenciano’. I’m not sure whether an idioma has any less status than a lengua so my Spanish readers may help out here. The unresolved issue around Valencian is that the [ever difficult] Catalans insist it’s not a distinct language at all; merely Catalan with a different label. But, in modern Spain, every region has to have its own tongue to champion in Madrid and Brussels. Stand by for the deification of Andaluz and its sub-variants. All of them quite unintelligible to the rest of Spain, never mind Europe.
During the first month of its operation, the new anti-smoking law led to more than 200 prosecutions, with Madrid leading the field on 70. At present, it’s difficult to know how these will proceed as none of the regional governments has yet fixed penalties for the various offences. Perhaps it’s going to be one of the new type of law described by President Zapatero in connection with the obligation to speak Catalan in Catalunia – ‘A law without a sanction for failure to observe it’.
Spain’s 17 Autonomous Communities comprise 14 regions and 3 ‘historical nationalities’, viz. Catalunia, the Basque Country and Galicia. Very soon there’ll be a further distinction. In the Preamble to its new constitution, Catalunia will be referred to as a ‘nation’. And on the horizon, currently no bigger than a man’s hand, there’s the possibility of another change. The political arm of the ETA terrorist organisation has hinted that the price of peace could be to allow the Basque Country to annex the adjacent region of Navarra. In any other European state this would be preposterous but who knows in today’s fissiparous Spain, where tribalism appears to be increasing, rather than declining. I blame the EU.
A parliamentary commission yesterday approved the draft of Catalunia’s new constitution, in the preamble of which the region is referred to as a nation. A taste of things to come was the [rejected] demand that Spain’s co-official languages of Catalan, Basque and Galician be given this status not only in the relevant regions but throughout the whole of Spain.
The region of Andalucia has joined Catalunia in referring to itself as a ‘national reality’ in the preamble to its new Constitution. Actually, ‘reality’ seems to me to be the one thing lacking in all these developments. But, notwithstanding that, it can’t be long now before Spain [taking a leaf out of the New Labour book] becomes The New United Nations. Or perhaps just The United National Realities plus The Canaries.
It’s sometimes very difficult to gauge which way things are going as regards the make-up of the Spanish state. In the northern reaches of the country, Catalunia and the Basque Country continue to take steps to reduce the impact of the central government and Spanish culture on the regions. Whilst, down in the south, the government has taken direct control of the blatantly corrupt Marbella council, rather as the UK government does with Northern Ireland from time to time. On the face of it, these developments seem rather inconsistent but I have a theory they’re really quite compatible. This is that the Spanish government has accepted the country is breaking up and is re-creating El Andalus, prior to handing it over to Al Queda next time there’s a bomb threat. Only kidding, of course.
It seems the feast of England’s patron saint, St George, will be celebrated tomorrow with more patriotic fervour than ever before. This, of course, is the consequence of giving devolution [and more money] to both the Scots and the Welsh. Not to mention having a government stuffed full with Scots and a parliament in which Scottish members are allowed to vote on English matters, whilst English members are denied the same right in respect of Scottish affairs. In Spanish terms, it’s as if Zapatero’s cabinet comprised mainly Catalans bored at the prospect of just running an increasingly independent Catalunia. One near-term indication of English dissatisfaction with this mare’s nest will be a significantly increased number of seats for the BNP right-wing, nationalist party in the May local council elections. Longer term, it’s not too fanciful to see a separate English parliament, though not whilst the Labour government has to rely on Scottish MPs to keep it in power.
Up in Catalunia the President of the regional/national government has solved a 6 month long cabinet-composition crisis by appointing someone from a minority party who’s under investigation for extortion. I’m not clear what this says about Catalunian politics. If anything. Business as usual, perhaps.
There are now 6 Spanish regions demanding to be called ‘nationalities’ – Catalunia, the Balearic Islands, Andalucia, Aragon, Valencia and, of course, Galicia. Surveying the scene in Iraq, the editor of Prospect magazine recently commented that “85 years after the British first tried to create one, Iraq still lacks the basis of a European nation state.” I wonder what he’d make of Spain, more than 500 years after Ferdinand and Isabella’s ‘unification’. Cue for some nationalist or other to write to me with the true but irrelevant claim that his bit of Spain had its own king long before Los Reyes Catolicos happened along.
I need to expand a comment I made the other day about independence and money. Here in Spain, the two regions which are the most independence-driven are also the richest - Catalunia and the Basque Country. Galicia, on the other hand, is poor and the ‘nationalist’ movement here is weak. They couldn’t afford to go it alone and they know it. The others could and would be better off, if they did, as they would no longer subsidise the rest of Spain. There’s a parallel here between Scotland and Galicia. Although Scotland is a country and Galicia ‘only’ an Autonomous Region, the latter [I believe] actually has more devolved power than the former. But the Scots, being as canny as they are reputed to be, have never sought full independence and have settled – though only quite recently - for ‘devolution’. The reason for this is twofold - and very simple. 1. The Scots are subsidised enormously by the English, and 2. For hundreds of years, able Scots have fled south to occupy a disproportionate number of top positions in every walk of British life. In fact, you only have to look at the cabinet of Tony Blair [a Scot with an English accent] to realise how powerful the Scottish mafia really is. So, why bother with independence when you can take someone else’s money for the relatives back home and run the whole of the UK at the same time? Catalunia and the Basque Country often quote Scotland as an example of what they want to be. One is forced to ask just how much they understand about things outside their own onion patch. And the question arising is – would the ‘nationalist’ movements of Catalunia and the Basque Country really be so strong if either they were poor or if they had in the past had the sense to follow the Scottish model that they now claim to want to follow? Of course, with full independence would come your own national football team but not many of us think this alone is worth killing for. Though I can’t vouch for my NZ friend.
THE TOWER OF BABEL: Circumstances change principles. When the Spanish government had the EU Constitution printed in Valencian, the Catalan government objected and insisted this wasn’t necessary, as they were the same language. Today we read it has banned the use in Catalunian schools of something written in Valencian, as only Catalan is allowed for education purposes. Or something like that.
Well, the people of Catalunia finally voted on their new Constitution yesterday. Or, rather, just under 50% of them did. Of these, 75% approved it, meaning it passes into law with the endorsement of around 38% of the electorate. This, of course, allows everyone involved to claim some sort of victory - even the far-left party who regarded the proposals as insufficiently generous to Catalunia and so recommended abstention. The rest of us are just glad the long-running saga is finally over. Though we now have to endure similar polemical processes in several other regions, all of which are vying with each other to see what creative phrase they can come up with containing something akin to ‘nation’. I suppose it keeps the politicians busy. And the ‘nationalists’ happy. More or less. But I’m not convinced it’s good for Spain.
The Economist magazine thinks the Spanish government and its people should be proud of the peaceful way greater powers have been devolved to Catalunia ‘in accordance with the wishes of the people’. Daniel Hannan takes a rather different view, in this week’s Spectator magazine, suggesting Catalunia has effectively declared itself a sovereign entity in loose association with the Spanish state. But, then, Hannan is a politician and lives in Madrid. So perhaps he has a better feel for the issues. And a deeper understanding of what is actually going on in Catalunia these days. I wonder if the Economist would be so relaxed if Cornwall and Brittany both demanded the same semi-independent status as ‘Celtic nations’ who deserved to rule themselves. I suspect not.
Further away – in the UK – the English seem to be finally waking up to the fact that, although they heavily subsidise their Scottish neighbours, they are not allowed any say at all in the running of Scotland. In sharp contrast, Scottish members of the British parliament not only vote on English matters but actually keep Tony Blair in power, despite his unpopularity in England. Something has got to give and it will be interesting to see how this issue [the so-called ‘Midlothian problem’] is resolved over the next few years. Meanwhile – as I’ve said before – it’s rather as if the Spanish state gave Catalunia total control over its ‘domestic’ affairs, then heavily subsidised the Catalunians and, on top of this, allowed ambitious Catalans to run the entire Spanish government.
Up in Catalunia, the government says it will ban bullfighting, which is very much a minority activity up there anyway. I almost said ‘sport’ but this is a major faux pas in Spain, where its aficionados consider it an art form. Albeit a rather sanguinary one.
A reader has asked why I’m against greater devolution in Spain and why I believe the UK model is superior. Well, the short answer to this is that I’m not and I don’t. So I’m sorry if this is the impression given. In short, my view is that in a democracy it must be right to respond to local/regional demands for greater devolution of power. But, that said, I’m not convinced that what is actually going on is will be good for Spain in the long run.
A leading Galician politician has said there can be no reason why the region’s new constitution shouldn’t be as good as any other. Meaning that of Catalunia, I suppose. This piecemeal approach to reform rather contrasts with that in Germany, where the relationship between the central government and all the regions is currently being negotiated in the round. I can’t help feeling this is a less time-consuming and divisive approach.
Galicians eat the lowest quantity of pre-prepared foods – 6 kilos a year each, against 10 nationwide. At 14, the Catalunians consume the most. Which might explain a few things.
I read this comment today – Spain has a lop-sided constitution with big powers for the Basque Country, more modest devolution for Catalunia and relatively little for Castile. This asymmetry is tolerated in part because the most devolved areas are the richest parts of Spain and, thus, paymasters of the rest. Conspicuous by its absence from this short list is Galicia, even though it also has a privileged position. This is because it’s one of the poorest parts of Spain and, as I have said, represents much less of a go-it-alone threat to the rest of the country. The Galician ‘nationalists’ who write to upbraid/insult me find this comment hard to accept. But they would, wouldn’t they?
The latest example of language fascism to come out of Catalunia is a proposal that immigrants [meaning people like me] should not be allowed to vote in local elections unless they can show capability in the language [meaning Catalan, of course. Not the national language]. This has been summarily rejected by Madrid but I feel safe in forecasting it won’t be long before something just as asinine comes along.
An article in one of the local paper’s today raised what it said was a long-standing issue – that of whether Galicia should be on the same time as Portugal and Morocco below it and Ireland and the UK above it. An interesting point made was that most of Spain is actually west of the Greenwich meridian and so should be on this time. But, as this would leave Catalunia with its own ‘independent’ clock, I guess hell will freeze over before the Spanish government moves in this direction.
A columnist in yesterday’s El Mundo called for “A plural nation” in preference to “A plurality of nations”. At the moment, Spain seems to be located somewhere between these but edging towards the latter. One wonders whether the government has any particular model in mind [The German? The American?]. If it does, it’s clearly unwilling to share it with the electorate. This naturally leaves the impression it is the victim of events. And, of course, regional pressures.
Which reminds me - The Galician government has announced it will shortly inaugurate schools in which all lessons are in Gallego, compared with 40% at the moment. This, I think we can safely say, is the Catalunian model. And one which will do little for the employment prospects of the pupils. Not that this would be a concern of doctrinaire nationalists.
Pressure for independence from Spain comes from within the regions, most particularly from Catalunia and the Basque Country. In the case of the UK, such pressure has traditionally been rather muted in both Scotland and Wales. Indeed, they’ve each got their own parliament/ assembly and greater devolved powers only very recently. But they’re now beginning to use these to effect different policies from England. The Scots in particular have decided to give their citizens much wider and less expensive health care and tertiary education. Trouble is, the costs of all this are heavily subsidised by the English. This is beginning to stick in the English craw – especially since Scottish MP’s at Westminster vote on purely English matters – and there’s growing pressure to put an end to this largesse. Who knows, perhaps the small band of Scottish Nationalists may one day achieve their goal of independence. But not because the majority of Scots demand it [they don’t] but because the tight-fisted English thrust it on them. This, of course, is a nightmare scenario for the ambitious, thrusting Scots [Blair, Brown, Reid, Darling, etc.] who currently dominate British politics. And it at least partly explains why the Prime- Minister-in-waiting, Mr Brown, has been spouting about ‘Britishness’ for some time now. He doesn’t want to be thrown out at the next general election just because he’s a ‘bloody Scot”.
I very much doubt that independence would be welcome to the vast majority of Scots, who’d then have to be more heavily taxed. I’ve previously compared this situation with that of Galicia. This drives the Galician independistas into paroxysms of rage, as nothing will convince them won’t become a mighty and prosperous nation once it’s liberated from the yoke of Spanish colonial oppression. So I’m happy to mention it again and now await the wave of insults from ‘independent’ adolescents sitting at their computers in a bedroom in their parents’ house.
The government of Catalunia has introduced new measures that will, it’s said, reduce the Spanish content of the primary school curriculum to about 10%, the same level as in the Basque Country. In both these regions the clear objective is to reduce the national language to the status of French, German or English. And it will surely succeed, doing nothing for the employment prospects of the kids in the rest of Spain. And probably harming Catalunia’s inward investment profile at the same time. But there will be no immediate damage and this is why these measures appeal to demagogic politicians blinded by petty ‘nationalism’. I guess we can expect to see them here in within a couple of years.
Up in Catalunia there’s a brave group of people, willing to face the wrath of their fellow Catalans. These are the members of Ciutadans, which is dedicated to ensuring that the rights of Spanish [‘Castellano’] speakers are not just theoretically preserved but actually protected. I take my sombrero off to them.
Which reminds me, I think Lenox’s comment of my Kingdom of Danelaw blog merits wider publication. So here it is :-
I could run all of your newspapers, magazines, freebies, web-pages, radios, television channels, satellite channels, the local TV channel and other media activities.
I could re-write history and record it in the nation’s school books – which I could print: new ones each year, of course.
I would present your ideas, excesses, absurdities, mistakes and vulgarities in the best possible light
I would be sure to minimise any endeavours from the opposition to your government in my media empire.
I would open a foundation with prizes and honours to specially chosen ‘friends’ of The Party.
While I am unfortunately far too old to learn your amusing national patois, I shall nevertheless attempt to ridicule through my media empire anyone who doesn’t use it exclusively in all public events.
You, in return, would give me most of your ‘institutional advertising’ even when not appropriate. All new radio and television licences would be first offered to my organisation.
You would make representation to The Pope and other heads of state or captains of industry to complain, loudly, regularly and bitterly about any of my surviving competitors.
The left wing party in the current Catalunia elections has distributed condoms bearing the legend ‘Screw the Right”. Of course, this is on the packaging, not the item itself. I guess.
No politician loses his grip on reality quicker than a nationalist demagogue. The latest madness to come out of Catalunia is a proposal that immigrants should earn full social security entitlements on the basis of points gained for various personal developments. Figuring prominently would be the need to learn Catalan. But nul points for Spanish, of course.
Talking of failed promises - we are in the final stages of elections in Catalunia. Given the participants are nearly all demagogic ‘nationalists’, this has not been an edifying spectacle. But the most interesting aspect is that the brave group fighting for the retention of the Spanish language in the region may well win a seat or two. Vamos a ver.
The exit polls in the Catalan elections are sending out confusing signals. The big winner appears to be the CiU [Convergència i Unió] party. This is one of the three members of the governing tripartite and looks to have grown at the expense of its partners, the left-wing ERC party and, in particular, the socialist PSC party. However, the CiU is unlikely to have an overall majority so the tripartite government will continue, albeit headed by ‘a true Catalan’, rather than by someone born in a foreign country, Andalucia. But the big news of the night is the gain of seats by both the local Green party [the ICV-EuA] and what I called yesterday the brave group fighting for the retention of the Spanish language in the region, Ciutadans de Catalunya [C's]. Overall, the view of our leading paper up here in Galicia is that the Catalans have punished the recent excesses of the nationalists.
The good news for Spain this week is that at least one of its 17 regions – Andalucia – is proving capable of revising its constitution on the basis of all-party support, both local and national. Here in Galicia, though, the attitude ahead of our own negotiation appears to be that nothing less than what was granted to Catalunia will be acceptable. But then we have a ‘nationalist’ party in the governing coalition, wagging the tail of the socialist dog.
I’m reading an increasing number of articles saying – just a few months short of the 300th anniversary of the Union – that Scotland should be allowed to leave the UK and become a truly independent country. The funny thing is these are all written by aggrieved English commentators who feel Scotland, not England, should pay for the generous health and education policies implemented by the devolved government. Since Catalunia and the Basque Country contribute to Madrid’s coffers, this is an unlikely scenario as regards these regions at least. But I guess it’s possible to see the rest of Spain one day bidding a fond farewell to . Perhaps in about 300 years time. And depending on the freedom which the Xunta has under its new Constitution to introduce social policies superior to those elsewhere.
Displaying a grasp of reality that you’d expect, the Galician Nationalist Party [the BNG] has proposed moves to the same time as the Canary Islands and Portugal. In terms solely of longitude, this makes excellent sense. But, as a political policy, it doesn’t have a prayer. For one thing, with only one exception the whole of Spain really should be on the same time as the UK. But since this exception is Catalunia, Madrid is never going to permit any tinkering with time zones.
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