Comte Arnau
11-27-2010, 11:12 PM
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Elections Sunday in Catalonia, Spain's wealthy northeastern region, are expected to usher in a combative nationalist government that could shake up Spanish politics.
Support for Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's Socialist party, which governs in Catalonia as well as at the national level, has been undermined by a deep fiscal and economic crisis.
http://envezdelpsiquiatra.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/catalunya-espanya.jpg
The Catalan elections are the first in a series of regional polls ahead of national elections that Mr. Zapatero must call by the end of his term in March 2012. A poor showing for the Socialists in Catalonia, traditionally an important bastion of support, wouldn't bode well for the party. Many Spaniards believe Mr. Zapatero took far too long to recognize the severity of Spain's crisis. Now his minority government has difficulty getting the parliamentary support necessary for big legislative initiatives.
Opinion polls show that national opposition leader Mariano Rajoy doesn't inspire a lot of confidence among voters either, but his Popular Party is remembered for making the tough economic reforms that readied Spain for euro membership in 1999 and set the stage for its subsequent economic boom. Polls show that the Popular Party would win if national elections were held today.
The crisis has hit Catalonia particularly hard and its government is the most indebted of Spain's 17 regions, souring voter sentiment toward Socialist President Jose Montilla. At the same time, Spain's Constitutional Court's decision to water down a new charter for Catalonia passed in 2006—which defined the region as a nation and expanded the funding it received from the central government—has inflamed nationalist sentiments. The resulting boost to nationalist parties could have consequences that go beyond the local elections. As in other countries with separatist-minded regions—Flanders in Belgium, Scotland in the U.K. or Quebec in Canada—Catalonia wields considerable influence over Spanish policies. Through their representation in Spanish parliament, Catalan nationalists have often provided crucial support to governments led either by the Socialists or the center-right Popular Party.
In the run-up to the elections, the center of debate in Catalonia is its historic grievance that the wealthy region gets little from the central government in terms of services and investment in return for the taxes it pays.
Convergence and Union, or CiU, long a dominant party in local politics and widely tipped to win the coming elections, wants to turn the tables on the central government, collect its own taxes and then transfer a portion to Madrid. A handful of smaller parties, however, advocate a more radical solution: independence for Catalonia.
"We are wasting too much time talking about other structures and proposals," said Joan Laporta, head of Catalan Solidarity for Independence, one of two new pro-independence parties that will debut at these elections. "We are getting poorer," Mr. Laporta said in an interview.
Mr. Laporta, already well known as the former president of FC Barcelona, the 20-time winner of the Spanish soccer league and symbol of Catalan culture and nationalism, brought adult-entertainment star Maria Lapiedra to appear at a recent rally to give his campaign a boost. Mr. Laporta, a youthful-looking 48, notes that some recent surveys show that, for the first time, a majority of Catalans want independence. Barcelona-based newspaper La Vanguardia, for example, published in July the results of a poll that showed 47% of those surveyed said they would vote in favor of independence, while 36% said they would vote against.
Salvdor Giner, head of the Institute of Catalan Studies in Barcelona, says pro-independence sentiment tends to "go in cycles." He notes that Catalonia has a large population of people who have arrived in Catalonia from other parts of Spain over the years, and that they oppose the idea of independence. "Not even Quebec or Puerto Rico vote for independence...and they have much more solid, homogeneous societies," Mr. Giner said.
Many of the immigrants living in Catalonia feel alienated by the rising tide of Catalan nationalism. Angel Velasco, a 63-year-old retired automobile worker originally from Burgos in northern Spain, says he doesn't plan to vote in Sunday's elections. Speaking on a downtown Barcelona street, he says that none of the parties "measure up" and that "nationalism is fascism." Historically, many voters who identify more with Spain than with Catalonia abstain in regional elections, which favors nationalist parties.
Ahead of the vote, the traditionally moderate CiU has scaled up its rhetoric, making veiled threats that it could seek independence. At a recent speech to business leaders and journalists in Madrid, CiU leader Artur Mas vowed he won't be swayed from his aim of taking control of Catalonia's tax revenue. He warned that if Catalonia is told the idea is unconstitutional, then maybe the region "doesn't have a place in [Spain's] constitutional order." He added: "Catalonia will find its way, one way or another."
At issue is the principle of redistribution of some resources from wealthy regions to poor regions that is at the core of the Spanish welfare state. While the Basque Country and Navarre already have systems that effectively give them control over taxes, their arrangements date back hundreds of years and they generate a comparatively small amount of revenue. Critics of the idea of giving the same privilege to Catalonia say it would open the door to other wealthy regions of Spain doing them same.
The idea has wide support in Catalonia, however. Josep Gonzalez, head of Catalan small-business association Pimec, says Catalonia is suffering from a deficit of investment in its railways and ports. "There is growing frustration that Madrid doesn't take into account the opinion of Catalonia," Mr. Gonzalez said.
Polls show that Mr. Mas's CiU is poised to win a parliamentary majority, or at least get enough votes to lead any coalition building and prevent the Socialists from forming a government with their allies from the two previous terms: the pro-independence Republican Left of Catalonia and the environmentalists of Initiative for Catalonia Greens. The Socialists are fighting back, trying to scare voters by saying CiU will launch the region on a collision course with the central government in Madrid.
The Popular Party, though it has seen its political fortunes wane in Catalonia because of its opposition to the region's new charter, is hoping to be the third-biggest vote-getter. Such a showing would allow it to play an important role in any coalition government and create momentum for the party on the national stage. "The change of the political cycle [in Spain] is clearly starting," said Emilio Lamo de Espinosa, sociology professor at Madrid's Complutense university and a political analyst.
Elections Sunday in Catalonia, Spain's wealthy northeastern region, are expected to usher in a combative nationalist government that could shake up Spanish politics.
Support for Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's Socialist party, which governs in Catalonia as well as at the national level, has been undermined by a deep fiscal and economic crisis.
http://envezdelpsiquiatra.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/catalunya-espanya.jpg
The Catalan elections are the first in a series of regional polls ahead of national elections that Mr. Zapatero must call by the end of his term in March 2012. A poor showing for the Socialists in Catalonia, traditionally an important bastion of support, wouldn't bode well for the party. Many Spaniards believe Mr. Zapatero took far too long to recognize the severity of Spain's crisis. Now his minority government has difficulty getting the parliamentary support necessary for big legislative initiatives.
Opinion polls show that national opposition leader Mariano Rajoy doesn't inspire a lot of confidence among voters either, but his Popular Party is remembered for making the tough economic reforms that readied Spain for euro membership in 1999 and set the stage for its subsequent economic boom. Polls show that the Popular Party would win if national elections were held today.
The crisis has hit Catalonia particularly hard and its government is the most indebted of Spain's 17 regions, souring voter sentiment toward Socialist President Jose Montilla. At the same time, Spain's Constitutional Court's decision to water down a new charter for Catalonia passed in 2006—which defined the region as a nation and expanded the funding it received from the central government—has inflamed nationalist sentiments. The resulting boost to nationalist parties could have consequences that go beyond the local elections. As in other countries with separatist-minded regions—Flanders in Belgium, Scotland in the U.K. or Quebec in Canada—Catalonia wields considerable influence over Spanish policies. Through their representation in Spanish parliament, Catalan nationalists have often provided crucial support to governments led either by the Socialists or the center-right Popular Party.
In the run-up to the elections, the center of debate in Catalonia is its historic grievance that the wealthy region gets little from the central government in terms of services and investment in return for the taxes it pays.
Convergence and Union, or CiU, long a dominant party in local politics and widely tipped to win the coming elections, wants to turn the tables on the central government, collect its own taxes and then transfer a portion to Madrid. A handful of smaller parties, however, advocate a more radical solution: independence for Catalonia.
"We are wasting too much time talking about other structures and proposals," said Joan Laporta, head of Catalan Solidarity for Independence, one of two new pro-independence parties that will debut at these elections. "We are getting poorer," Mr. Laporta said in an interview.
Mr. Laporta, already well known as the former president of FC Barcelona, the 20-time winner of the Spanish soccer league and symbol of Catalan culture and nationalism, brought adult-entertainment star Maria Lapiedra to appear at a recent rally to give his campaign a boost. Mr. Laporta, a youthful-looking 48, notes that some recent surveys show that, for the first time, a majority of Catalans want independence. Barcelona-based newspaper La Vanguardia, for example, published in July the results of a poll that showed 47% of those surveyed said they would vote in favor of independence, while 36% said they would vote against.
Salvdor Giner, head of the Institute of Catalan Studies in Barcelona, says pro-independence sentiment tends to "go in cycles." He notes that Catalonia has a large population of people who have arrived in Catalonia from other parts of Spain over the years, and that they oppose the idea of independence. "Not even Quebec or Puerto Rico vote for independence...and they have much more solid, homogeneous societies," Mr. Giner said.
Many of the immigrants living in Catalonia feel alienated by the rising tide of Catalan nationalism. Angel Velasco, a 63-year-old retired automobile worker originally from Burgos in northern Spain, says he doesn't plan to vote in Sunday's elections. Speaking on a downtown Barcelona street, he says that none of the parties "measure up" and that "nationalism is fascism." Historically, many voters who identify more with Spain than with Catalonia abstain in regional elections, which favors nationalist parties.
Ahead of the vote, the traditionally moderate CiU has scaled up its rhetoric, making veiled threats that it could seek independence. At a recent speech to business leaders and journalists in Madrid, CiU leader Artur Mas vowed he won't be swayed from his aim of taking control of Catalonia's tax revenue. He warned that if Catalonia is told the idea is unconstitutional, then maybe the region "doesn't have a place in [Spain's] constitutional order." He added: "Catalonia will find its way, one way or another."
At issue is the principle of redistribution of some resources from wealthy regions to poor regions that is at the core of the Spanish welfare state. While the Basque Country and Navarre already have systems that effectively give them control over taxes, their arrangements date back hundreds of years and they generate a comparatively small amount of revenue. Critics of the idea of giving the same privilege to Catalonia say it would open the door to other wealthy regions of Spain doing them same.
The idea has wide support in Catalonia, however. Josep Gonzalez, head of Catalan small-business association Pimec, says Catalonia is suffering from a deficit of investment in its railways and ports. "There is growing frustration that Madrid doesn't take into account the opinion of Catalonia," Mr. Gonzalez said.
Polls show that Mr. Mas's CiU is poised to win a parliamentary majority, or at least get enough votes to lead any coalition building and prevent the Socialists from forming a government with their allies from the two previous terms: the pro-independence Republican Left of Catalonia and the environmentalists of Initiative for Catalonia Greens. The Socialists are fighting back, trying to scare voters by saying CiU will launch the region on a collision course with the central government in Madrid.
The Popular Party, though it has seen its political fortunes wane in Catalonia because of its opposition to the region's new charter, is hoping to be the third-biggest vote-getter. Such a showing would allow it to play an important role in any coalition government and create momentum for the party on the national stage. "The change of the political cycle [in Spain] is clearly starting," said Emilio Lamo de Espinosa, sociology professor at Madrid's Complutense university and a political analyst.