CATALONIA -- Catalonia's referendum: Getting to “sí” | The Economist
THEY put a brave face on it in Catalonia. The Scottish "no" vote, said Catalan president Artur Mas, was a triumph for democracy and an enviable example of how to resolve nationalist tension within a European state. But it was also a setback. A Scottish "yes" would have proved that a European Union state can break up, and obliged EU leaders to find a way to cope. Catalan separatists would have tried to fall into Scotland's slipstream, using its vote to boost support for a movement that has grown rapidly; some polls show a majority of Catalans favour a split.
