No fingers crossed

The outcome of the election called by PM Rajoy for 21 December will determine Catalonia’s political landscape for many years to come. We need a high turnout in which people vote with their head rather than their heart in order to shuffle the deck and deal a fresh hand, reinvigorating politics, recognising the principle of reality and maintaining our objectives, while adapting to timeframes and external forces.

There is no such thing as a silent majority in Catalonia. The turnout for the 27 September 2015 elections was a record 77.4%, 9 points higher than in the previous election, and far higher than for Spain’s general elections.

Contrary to the propaganda spread by certain sectors, there is no majority which has had no way of expressing itself, nor has a minority imposed its will on the rest. However, we do need to find out how great is the stalemate which exists between those who are in favour and those who are against independence, and to what extent there exists a cross-party majority in favour of the right to decide.

A large segment of the public is approaching this election with fatigue. For a part of Catalan society, [Madrid invoking] Article 155 [of the Spanish Constitution] has come as a relief. However, a highly diverse majority of the population is experiencing mixed feelings of humiliation, sadness, fear and indignation. They are hurt and outraged by the violence unleashed on 1 October and by the application of Article 155 with its hard-line interpretation of the Constitution that rips four decades of self-government to shreds and undermines the Catalan government’s institutions to their core. They feel humiliated by the imprisonment of their civil society leaders and half the government, as well as perplexed by the situation of the President of the Catalan government and some of his ministers in Brussels. They are reoccupied by the economic consequences of the international impact of the 1 October violence and the uncertainty that has rattled the confidence of both consumers and investors. The rapid pace of events has sent shockwaves through society. While Spain has shown that it is blinded by a sense of entitlement which makes them unable to compromise, much of Catalan politics suffers from excessive idealism.

The decision to announce a Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) was not governed by the rules of political pragmatism, and those responsible now recognise as much. With the UDI now converted into a gesture of resistance, now is the time for Catalonia to regain control over its institutions, continue with attempts to reduce the tension on the streets and to formulate a realistic strategy over time and making use of its strengths, without renouncing its goal of creating a better country following the wishes of the majority. The public needs to know where the political parties are headed and how they wish them to proceed. They also have the right to hold to account those who are the guarantors of collective responsibilities, for the confidence that was deposited in them. Without this turning into an exercise in self-flagellation or a sign of weakness. Developing and evaluating the strategies so that they can be viable has a lower cost than not doing so in order not to appear weak.

The present moment ought to lead to a better relationship between politics and the truth and for the rhetoric aimed at our adversary not to enlist the media, since this would be a betrayal of the very essence of our profession. As for journalism at the state-level, a significant part of the Spanish press is already stirring trouble: in particular, those who shamelessly declare that "the unity of Spain comes before journalistic principles".

The haste with which elections were called and the tension which led to the implosion of the Catalan government in the hours prior to the declaration in Parliament in turn precipitated the disintegration of the JxSí [Junts pel Sí, the 2015 coalition behind the Catalan independence bid]. Pro-independence parties will run on separate tickets, though they will be forced to work together towards their national goal or to rethink their approach if the Comuns increase their share of the vote. JxSí has achieved cohesion thanks to the external pressure applied by the CUP, though while Puigdemont suffers from the lack of a solid party, ERC has consolidated itself. The prospect of Esquerra Republicana’s indisputable leadership, determined to make the final step towards the presidency of the Catalan government, has met with obstacles this week. In response to weaknesses in his party, Carles Puigdemont has hand-picked the names on his slate. A rescue mission has been undertaken to save the president, which guarantees a better result than originally foreseen for PDECat, a parliamentary group that leaves its party without a clear direction.

There will always be people who don’t want to hear what they don’t like, but the public have shown politically and in their everyday lives that their efforts deserve a higher degree of truth. Self-indulgence is more rife in politics than in the market. One of the main assets of those who seek independence will continue to be the fact that Spain lacks a clear project for the future. If those who favour independence aspire to make their country better, they will have to do so with the majority, and with the seriousness, given to them by the voters. With no fingers crossed.