Independència!

Two weeks ago tomorrow, 1.5 million people (numbers obtained from police sources) gathered in Barcelona to demand independence for the state of Catalonia.

This outpouring of sentiment, partly stimulated by the feeling that Catalans are bearing an unnatural share of the taxation burden without seeing tangible benefits, has been seized upon by Artur Mas, the leader of the CiU, a political party dedicated to greater autonomy from rule from Madrid and a recent convert to full self determination. He has called elections for November, in an attempt to put pressure on Spanish premier Mariano Rajoy, a move which at the least will see Mas returned with an increased majority and depending on the result will be hailed as a referendum vote in favour of independence.

Rajoy has responded in the usual unionist fashion by belittling Catalan claims, dismissing catalan demands as a distraction during a time of economic crisis and refusing to cede that a referendum can ever be held under a constitution which neither of the main parties have any intention of changing.

The mood here is quite exciting, talk of independence is everywhere , the flags of Catalonia,modified with the addition of a star adorn 205 of the houses in our area,admittedly a solidly nationalist domain. Recent polls have put support for independence at 51%, and the "unionists" are now hinting thast it may be possible to talk about talks about a more equable federal structure.

The rhetoric from the central government figures is depressingly familiar to an exiled Scot. "Not a viable idea, too small to have an impact, economically unsustainable, problems remaining in the EU, etc etc etc" the depressing litany of negativity where people are looking for hope and leadership.

So are there lessons here for Scotland? I would like to think so, public pressure is building and even if nothing comes out of the elections by way of forward progress, the cork is out of the bottle. If Mas fails to get the mandate he hopes millions of disappointed and disaffected catalans will not let the matter rest.

The elephant in the room and one that is only whispered about is of course where the armed forces stand in this debate. it is generally felt that the generals are keeping quiet ,but Spain has been here before and the legacy is still not spent.