The Catalans need to build bridges, and to do so quickly. And not just to Madrid, where the central government appears to be hostage to some of the most reactionary forces in Spanish society. The constitution they regard as sacrosanct included those controversial clauses about the indissoluble unity of Spain only at the insistence of the armed forces. Under Franco the army had become used to playing a very active role in politics. Spain’s need for a new constitution is greater than Catalonia’s need for independence.

The other direction for bridge-building is just as urgent: bridges to the other Catalan-speaking regions of the Valencian Community and the Balearic Islands. At the last regional elections the ultra-conservative People’s party (PP) lost control of both these autonomous regions to leftwing alliances. The PP is the party of Spanish Prime Minister Rajoy. Such bridge-building is not just about politics. There is also much scope for improving cultural and economic relations, as I pointed out in my recent book Catalans and Others.

Catalonia has always survived by being open to the world but at present is indulging in a prolonged bout of navel-gazing. Its president and its people need to raise their eyes to possibilities beyond the narrow aim of independence.

John Payne

Author, Catalans and Others, Frome, Somerset

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