Former Spanish President’s Letter to the Catalans sparks controversy
CNA
Barcelona (CNA).- The former Spanish President Felipe
González has sparked controversy with an open letter published on Sunday
in El País newspaper in which he compared the Catalan situation with
that of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. “What it most resembles is the
German and Italian ventures of the 1930s”, he wrote, while describing
the plans of the coalition ‘Junts pel Sí’ (Together for Yes) to declare
independence if they win the next election. González admitted that it is
“hard” for him “to express it in these terms out of respect for the
tradition of coexistence in Catalonia”, but added that Catalan President
Artur Mas will be placing “himself in a position above the law, no
longer representing all Catalans and losing democratic legitimacy”.
According to González, the coalition ‘Junts pel Sí’ (Together for
Yes) “could be the start of a real dead end for Catalonia”. “How can
they want to take the Catalan people into isolation, into a kind of 21st-century version of what Albania once was?”, he said in the article, published on the front-page of the El País newspaper.
González argued that Mas “is tricking the supporters of independence”
because the “public space” that Spaniards share “as a nation state”
cannot be “arbitrarily and illegally broken up”. For González, the
project of ‘Junts pel Sí’ is a “strange and ridiculous front” that will
break the law and have a “number of consequences”, including division in
Catalonia and isolation in Europe.
The general coordinator of Catalonia’s ruling party CDC, Josep Rull,
said González’s remarks were “very sad”. “Felipe González’s recipe for
Catalonia is the same as that of (former Spanish PP President) Aznar:
fear, apocalypse and harsh and disgraceful remarks”. In a Tweet, Rull
added that González “will never understand” that the Catalan movement is
led by “thousands of Catalans”.
The leader of the coalition ‘Junts pel Sí’, former MEP Raül Romeva,
said that González comments were not surprising. “Time and time again
they’ve told us that we don’t have the right to have an opinion, not to
mention the right to express that opinion at the ballot box!”, he
regretted. Romeva said he would be happy to talk to any Spanish
politician about the issue of independence, but wondered whether they
would be willing to listen.
Catalan MP David Fernández, from the radical pro-independence party
CUP, criticised González for his “trivialisation of Fascism and Nazism”.
According to him, the former Spanish President remarks were “miserable”
and “disgraceful”, and merely a sign of the “desperation” of the ‘no’
camp. The CUP is running in the next election separately from ‘Junts pel
Sí’, but supports the plans to declare independence.
Comments welcomed by ‘no’ camp
The leader of the Catalan Socialists, Miquel Iceta, welcomed Felipe
González’s comments, saying he is someone who “knows and loves
Catalonia”. “He is a friend that warns us of the risks of certain
political options”, he argued. Iceta added that he “totally agrees” with
González. “Independence is a dangerous project for Catalonia and a risk
that we cannot assume”, he said.
The Spanish Vice-president, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría, from the
conservative People’s Party, also welcomed the article. “We need to
welcome the fact that he wrote (the article) and that he highlighted
that Catalan society is being torn apart and laws need to be upheld”,
she said. Referring to the pro-independence coalition, Sáenz de
Santamaría said that “it is very scary” to find politicians “willing to
break the law, because then they are not acting within the democratic
procedures”.
Yes) “could be the start of a real dead end for Catalonia”. “How can
they want to take the Catalan people into isolation, into a kind of 21st-century version of what Albania once was?”, he said in the article, published on the front-page of the El País newspaper.
González argued that Mas “is tricking the supporters of independence”
because the “public space” that Spaniards share “as a nation state”
cannot be “arbitrarily and illegally broken up”. For González, the
project of ‘Junts pel Sí’ is a “strange and ridiculous front” that will
break the law and have a “number of consequences”, including division in
Catalonia and isolation in Europe.
The general coordinator of Catalonia’s ruling party CDC, Josep Rull,
said González’s remarks were “very sad”. “Felipe González’s recipe for
Catalonia is the same as that of (former Spanish PP President) Aznar:
fear, apocalypse and harsh and disgraceful remarks”. In a Tweet, Rull
added that González “will never understand” that the Catalan movement is
led by “thousands of Catalans”.
The leader of the coalition ‘Junts pel Sí’, former MEP Raül Romeva,
said that González comments were not surprising. “Time and time again
they’ve told us that we don’t have the right to have an opinion, not to
mention the right to express that opinion at the ballot box!”, he
regretted. Romeva said he would be happy to talk to any Spanish
politician about the issue of independence, but wondered whether they
would be willing to listen.
Catalan MP David Fernández, from the radical pro-independence party
CUP, criticised González for his “trivialisation of Fascism and Nazism”.
According to him, the former Spanish President remarks were “miserable”
and “disgraceful”, and merely a sign of the “desperation” of the ‘no’
camp. The CUP is running in the next election separately from ‘Junts pel
Sí’, but supports the plans to declare independence.
Comments welcomed by ‘no’ camp
The leader of the Catalan Socialists, Miquel Iceta, welcomed Felipe
González’s comments, saying he is someone who “knows and loves
Catalonia”. “He is a friend that warns us of the risks of certain
political options”, he argued. Iceta added that he “totally agrees” with
González. “Independence is a dangerous project for Catalonia and a risk
that we cannot assume”, he said.
The Spanish Vice-president, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría, from the
conservative People’s Party, also welcomed the article. “We need to
welcome the fact that he wrote (the article) and that he highlighted
that Catalan society is being torn apart and laws need to be upheld”,
she said. Referring to the pro-independence coalition, Sáenz de
Santamaría said that “it is very scary” to find politicians “willing to
break the law, because then they are not acting within the democratic
procedures”.
More on
Artur Mas, Catalan Government, Catalan Independence, Felipe González, PSOE, Socialists, Spanish Government, Spanish President
The former Spanish President Felipe González (by ACN)
