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Classic left-wing-virtue-signaling Aligning themselves with the oppressed minorities. I'm sure the older folks on the forum will have similar versions of this with Ireland.
@Dammit and @Drano - Even with the last few days events, I'm going to stand my ground and say in the medium to long term this is a very shrewed move from Puigdemont. But to just to clarify, I think the whole thing is generally disastrous for pretty much everyone else.
@Drano - out of curiosity, in your idea scenario what form would an indy Catalonia take? Totally separate with it's own currency, legal system, armed forces, etc.? Would you apply for EU membership?
hugo7-
Yes to all of the above, though ideally the Euro would be maintained with a fast-track entry to the EU. This may well be a pie in the sky considering the European paranoia around breakaway states.
I'd also be happy with an arrangement similar to what the basques have, or even a Spanish Federation, which makes quite a lot of sense on paper.
Re Puigdemont: shrewd because it's stirred up feelings of nationalism and put the issue on the global map? That's true - it will be interesting to see what happens after the December elections if separatist parties are re-elected.
Drano
It's depressing how many people I know who are
Seems other people's nationalism can be exotic.
The Catalan president has gamed this very well. If the Spanish government had been smarter, the Catalan nationalists would have had an illegal referendum that more than half the population boycotted because they didn't want it or see it as valid. Now the story, as largely seen from outside Spain, is plucky oppressed people facing down brutal centralist government.