Monday, 2 October 2017

JUST A THOUGHT - THE SPANISH GOVERNMENT'S REACTION TO CATALONIA'S REFERENDUM! PART 1'




A government can either be patient and thoughtful in its response to a perceived crisis, or it can be crass and panicked into making an inappropriate response. 

And, as we know, when your response is crass and is given rise to from a state of panic, you are at risk of losing control and not being able to manage the response properly;

Not many governments, which pay homage to the concept and practice of being a 'liberal democracy', would have wanted to be confronted with the demands of millions of Catalonia's residents to be made independent of the sovereign Spanish state. 



However, that was the reality for the government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. 

It was not a situation which had not been faced before in the western hemisphere. 

The British Government of the former Prime Minister, David Cameron, had had to face just such a challenge. 

When the Scottish Government decided to hold a Referendum on whether Scotland should become an independent state, by acceding from the United Kingdom. 



Yes, it was the case that the Scottish 'regional' Government of the then Scottish First Minister, Alex Salmon, had followed due process. 

By seeking and obtaining the permission of the Central government at Westminster, to hold the Referendum. Which meant that it was all legitimate and constitutional.

In the case of the Catalonia Referendum on that region seeking its independence from the rest of Spain, due process, it seemed, had not been followed. 

The Catalonia Regional government, like the Scottish Regional Government, at the time, is a strong advocate of their region becoming independent from the rest of Spain. 



Consequently, it chose to ignore the Central Government and the requirements of Spanish constitutional law, and organised the referendum, knowing that millions of Catalonia's citizens support the independence option. 

It attempted, it seems, to create 'facts on the ground', by bringing about a situation where, with millions of Catalonian having voted for independence. 

It, the Regional Government, would point to it. Saying, there, the people have decided, so, by what authority do you, the Central Government, seek to deny the voice of the people, the voice of 'democracy.'

To be continued.






No comments: