You don't need to be a Catalan separatist to support the referendum on self-determination | The Parliament Magazine
It was summer 2010 when many Catalans came to the conclusion that
their country no longer belonged in the Spanish state. The Spanish
Constitutional Court, after a four year long procedure, was expected to
finally issue its ruling on Catalonia's statute of autonomy.
This new Catalan home-rule law had been adopted in 2010 after being
approved three times - in the Catalan Parliament, in the Spanish
Parliament (which delivered a watered-down version) and by Catalans in a
referendum.
And yet, despite this strong legitimacy and support, the Partido
Popular - at that time the main opposition party - chose to challenge
the Catalan Statute before the politicised Spanish Constitutional Court.
By opting for hard-line nationalism instead of reasonable politics,
they changed - maybe forever - the relations between Catalonia and
Spain.
A joint editorial by the 12 main Catalan newspapers in November 2009,
which today could be considered quite visionary, clearly warned of the
consequences of a ruling by the court that denied the will of the
Catalan majority.
Catalonia | Photo credit: Press Association
