Metropole - October 2017

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course, has hardly been held back; the rich-
est region in Spain, its regional GDP is larg-
er than that of Madrid, making the case for
separatism feel oddly bourgeois. Scotland,
for its part, benefits from the redistribu-
tion of wealth around the United Kingdom,
with government spending per head
higher than in either England or Wales.
If the Scottish referendum is anything
to go by, the Catalans might be well
advised to be careful what they wish for.
The Scottish National Party (SNP) went
for the grand prize three years ago when
the time seemed ripe and was defeated
firmly if not comprehensively. Now the
cause of Scottish nationalism is in limbo,

along with the U.K. itself, stuck between

the 2016 decision to leave the EU and the

supposed exit date of March 2019.

“The SNP are now pinning everything

on Brexit being a ‘clusterfuck’ [military

slang for fiasco] and the idea that we have

to become independent in order to escape

the coming economic turmoil,” said David

Torrance, columnist for The Herald.

However Scottish First Minister Nicola

Sturgeon’s push for a second indepen-

dence referendum earlier this year was

rebuffed by London. With another vote

promising only more upheaval, the

momentum has gone out of the push for a

separation from England.

UNITED IN HOW MUCH DIVERSITY?

As in Catalonia, Flemish nationalism too

is fuelled by an affluent region’s sense of

injustice at having to subsidize a poorer

one. Still, it remains largely a minority

cause, in spite of the electoral success of

the nationalist New Flemish Alliance

(N-VA). “Only around 5 percent of people

polled say Flanders should become an in-

dependent state,” said Dave Sinardet, pro-

fessor of political science at the Free Uni-

versity of Brussels. This has forced the

N-VA to shift away from separatism and

move toward greater co-federalism within

Belgium, “with a stronger focus on a right-

wing, [economically] liberal agenda, on

Secessionists of

all Lands, Unite!

Europe’s nation states consist

of a hodgepodge of

confident regions, each with

their own distinct heritage,

traditions and history. Yet only

a few yearn for independence.

“Spanish membership in the EU has not been able to

prevent nationalist delirium in Catalonia.”

Arcadi Espada, Spanish journalist and author

SCOTLAND

WALES

UNITED

IRELAND

ANDALUSIA

CATALONIA

BASQUE

COUNTRY

GALICIA

BRITTANY

FLANDERS

WALLONIA

SOUTH

TYROL

KOSOVO AND

METOHIJA

REPUBLIKA SRPSKA

CORSICA

SARDINIA