| http://www.nationalreview.com OCTOBER 30 , 2017However, within days of the referen-
dum, hundreds of thousands of opponents
were in the streets of Barcelona to demon-
strate their support for Span ish unity.
Calling themselves the Silent Majority
and carrying both the Spanish and Catalan
flags, they converged on Plaça Catalyuna
in the city center, shout ing “Viva España,
Visca Cat a lun ya” (Long live Spain, Long
live Cat a lo nia). Others are reported to
have shouted “Catalonia is Spain” and
“Puigde mont to jail.” Demonstrations
also took place in 50 other Spanish cities,
with some protesters denouncing the
Catalan bid for independence while oth-
ers wore white in order to show their sup-
port for talks. In Madrid, some protesters
gave fascist salutes.
In retrospect, it is certainly arguable that
Rajoy, the Spanish prime minister, could
have seen off the separatist challenge by
accepting that such was the depth and per-
sistence of feeling on the issue that he
would support a change to the constitution
that would permit a binding referendum to
take place—but with one very important
proviso: that a decision in favor of inde-
pendence would require a majority of 60
percent in a poll in which 60 percent of
eligible voters had taken part. The possi-
ble benefits of such an approach would
have by far outweighed the risks. But
public rebukes to the Catalan government
play well with the very many Spaniards
who feel outraged by its actions. So in -
stead, Rajoy heeded those within his rul-
ing party who believe that Catalonia
should be taught a lesson—which only
served to increase the numbers of those in
pursuit of an impossible dream.fascination. In what may have been the
only joke he ever uttered in public, the
Spanish dictator Gen er al is si mo Francisco
Franco declared: “There are too many
Spains—that’s why it needs me.” Some
regions, however, are more different than
others, and none are as keen to empha-
size their cultural distinctiveness as
Catalonia. “Catalonia is not Spain,”
often written in English so that the sen-
timent gets through to the wider world,
is a long-favored separatist slogan, one
that was daubed on walls and public
buildings during the run-up to the refer-
endum, appearing alongside brightly
colored “Sí” posters and Catalan flags.
In their grumpy way, Catalans fre-
quently complain that other Spaniards
stubbornly refuse to acknowledge their
region’s disproportionate contribution to
the Spanish economy and the unfairness
in the distribution of tax revenues. Many
are vehement in their denunciations of the
corruption and waste that they say is dis-
played by the Madrid government, usually
overlooking the fact that the Catalan gen-
eralitatis deeply in debt and has known
more than its fair share of financial scan-
dals. It would almost certainly be a mis-
take, however, to conclude that the present
mood of profound dissatisfaction can be
solved by a fairer distribution of tax rev-
enues: The Catalan sense of griev ance
and the evident readiness of Cat a lans to
embrace victimhood are too great for that.
Such is their capacity for wish fulfill-
ment that many separatists now put their
faith in mediation by the Eu ro pe an Union,
in whose good offices they place a naive
confidence, and even in the readiness of theEU to help it overcome the daunting policy
problems that would need to be overcome
if Cat a lo nia’s dream of nationhood were to
be achieved. Re markably, they seem to
have done little serious preparatory work
on what would be required in the way of
new laws and institutions if they succeeded
in their aim. Despite the terrorist attack in
Barcelona in August that claimed 13
lives, as much thought seems to have
been given to whether FC Barcelona
would be allowed to play in the English
Premier Football League if it were forced
to leave La Liga as has been given to the
future security arrangements of a small
newly independent state.
In the immediate aftermath of the
vote, much of the media coverage over-
looked the crucial and central fact that
while a majority of Catalans favored a
referendum, most do not want an inde-
pendent Catalan state at all—even if
they are unhappy with the region’s sta-
tus under the present constitution. Ac -
cord ing to a poll commissioned by the
three separatist parties that form the
Cat a lan government and taken just a
few weeks ago, only 41 percent back
independence, down from 51 percent in- It may well be this drop in sup-
port, in part the consequence of immi-
gration from other parts of Spain, that
prompted Puigdemont to raise the polit-
ical temperature by taking calculated if
cynical and dangerous steps to reverse
flagging nationalist sentiments. Thanks
to the ill-considered response of Spain’s
prime minister and the intervention of
the king, it is a strategy that appears to
have paid off in the short term.
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Demonstrators in favor of Catalonian independence gather in Barcelona, October 3, 2017.ALBERTLLOP/ANADOLUAGENCY/GETTYIMAGES3col_QXP-1127940387.qxp 10/11/2017 1:53 AM Page 24