Courtesy of Mish.
Deal Announced
The Spanish political situation today is a lot different than a week ago. New elections were at hand in Catalonia if pro-independence parties could not resolve their differences.
Today, the bickering parties set aside those differences in a striking deal to form a new government, guaranteed to raise a strong reaction from Madrid.
To understand what led up to today’s announcement, let’s backtrack to fill in a few pieces.
On January 3, the Financial Times reported Leadership divisions deal a blow to Catalan hopes for independence.
The two main independence parties — the mainstream Junts pel Si movement and the anti-capitalist CUP — won a majority of seats in the Catalan parliament in a landmark regional election last September. Since then, however, the CUP has made it clear that it will not support Artur Mas, the current regional president and the de facto leader of Junts pel Si, for another term in office.
Mr Mas, a relatively late convert to Catalan independence, is seen by many CUP leaders and activists as too centrist and business-friendly. The Catalan president has also been damaged by a string of corruption scandals that hit his party over the past year.
The rejection of Mr Mas leaves the broader Catalan independence campaign in a difficult position — and with a clear sense of an opportunity wasted.
For the Spanish government, meanwhile, Sunday’s decision will come as a relief. Madrid is fiercely opposed to Catalan independence, arguing that Spanish regions have no right of self-determination and that any step towards separation from Spain violates the constitution.
With the Catalan independence camp in disarray, Spain’s mainstream parties can focus on resolving their own political dilemma: last month’s general election produced a highly fragmented parliament, with no party close to holding a governing majority.
No Relief for Madrid
The sigh of relief in Madrid was short-lived. At the last minute, a deal has been announced that will make matters worse for Madrid than if CUP had gone along with Artur Mas as president.
The new president will likely take an even firmer stance on independence, not only from Spain, but the EU….
