Ambrose Evans-Pritchard of the Torygraph believes a Basque nationalist blog has misquoted a conversation between him and a Catalan nationalist journalist. Unfortunately he struggles a bit with the Spanish, and since his articles often bear a sketchy relationship to basic fact – if fisk is still a verb then maybe someone would like to employ it here – mewonders whether he doth not protest rather much.
If you want to read something sensible about Spain’s constitutional crisis from a generalist, you could try Gideon Rachman, a journalist of vastly superior calibre, but I think that even he doesn’t fully understand the implications of Catalan independence and exit from the EU, which would immediately be followed by the Basques.
Leaving aside the imperialist ambitions of both new entities, one aspect rarely mentioned is that, despite efforts in the past decade to increase the role of sea transport, roughly 70% of Spain’s European exports continue to travel by road and to an insignificant degree by rail via those two regions, and there is no alternative to hand – central Pyrenean connections are a joke. An armed, vengeful, bankrupt, unproductive rump (when did the aftermath of 1898 cease?) being held to ransom (some of the locals have been impressed at the success of miners’ blockades of motorways in Asturias and León) by an unarmed, bumptious, bankrupt, unproductive mini-state isn’t exactly a formula for peaceful coexistence. Referendum or no referendum, I continue to think something rather nasty’s going to happen.
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Was this ghostwritten by Candide?!
I don't think nastiness need occur. But a little bit of maturity on both sides would help.
I'm just hoping SI get nowhere. And where are the facking polls?!
Oh dear, that one rather ran away from me. I'm not drinking enough.
I see Catalonia and the Basque Country leaving. Then Gibraltar joining Spain (to salve Spanish pride). English becomes an official language of the ashes of Iberia. Then Gibraltar asks for independence as well (should be a shoe-in with 98% of them rarin' to go). Result, everybody happy and the new Spanish Government, by then based in Melilla, can legalise gambling, smoking and playing chicken with Moroccan bulls.