Catalonia has not been declared a nation in the new statute. The statute says in the preliminaries (Not binding article) that the parlament of Catalonia defines the history and traditions of Catalonia as a nation and that in any case, the Spanish Constituion defines this reality as a nationality. So Catalonia is not a nation. Catalonia is a nationality as a way to accept that the catalan parlament calls itself a nation.
It is frankly the exact middle point, the perfect equilibrium that makes the mildly nationalists, the open spaniards and most of the catalan happy (and nobody completely happy). Cosntitutional and with an broad acceptance of the differences in symbolic appreciation. It is frankly a wonderful preliminary.
This means that this catalan statute should be inmediately linked with something bad...just in case the spaniards would read it and like it. In this way nobody would read anything.. just Catalonia is a nation...
Another important deconstruction is to start playing with the future symbols of Euskadi. Euskadi has right now a confederation structure on taxes and spending and almost federalistic statue on competences7attribution of governance. The future changes on the new statute of Euskadi will be basically about identity symbolism (maybe also making it a little bit more federal in some areas). So attacking the catalan statute is a way to say: watch out!!! if you are giving the "nation" symbol to Euskadi you are basically paying a political price...
And this will be the word from the right: political price for peace...Zapatero will be guilty of paying apolitical price for peace....
A pleasure I therefore claim to show, not how men think in myths, but how myths operate in men's minds without their being aware of the fact. Levi-Strauss, Claude
Also, today Zapatero was in Brussels with the other heads of State or Government to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Spain and Portugal's accession (see elsewhere in this thread), and he received the unanimous support of the Council of the EU. However, there was also this PP-inspired jab: El Pais: Chirac: "La esperanza de España es la esperanza de Europa" (23-03-2006)
... Before the start of the European Council the [national] leaders belonging to the European People's Party (PPE) have approved, on their part, a resolution in which they demanded that the "permanent ceasefire" announced by the terrorist band be confirmed by deeds and have set four conditions. According to the PPE, the group's announcement can only be consolidated with the unconditional surrender of their weapons, the final dissolution of ETA, an express rejection of violence and intimidation, and asking for the victims' forgiveness. The declaration has been supported, among others, by Germany's chancellor Angela Merkel, and the prime Ministers Schüssel (Austria), Jan-Peter Balkenende (Holland) and Silvio Berlusconi (Italy).
Yesterday, the leader of the PPE in the European Parliament (Hans Gert Poettering, German) made some favourable remarks that were immediately contradicted by one of the Vice-Presidents of the EP, Aleix Vidal-Quadras from Spain. Now the EPP has fallen in line with the Aznarists. guaranteed to evoke a violent reaction from police is to challenge their right to "define the situation." --- David Graeber citing Marc Cooper
Christos. Who let's these idiots do or support anything? I'm quite sure there are enough people in Spain to make demands and counter-demands without the help of foreign leaders.
Public statements of support for a peace process are what they're for, together with whatever quiet support they can provide. Fools, fool and more fools.
Colman, do you remember this, however?
El Pais: An association chaired by a PP cadre demands "filling the streets with resisting patriots""it will be necessary to fill the streets of Spain with resisting compatriots and that they do not resign themselves (...) There's no turning back. Tomorrow will be late". In an almost warlike tone and referring constantly to the reform of the Catalan Statute, Santiago Abascal, chairman of the Nuevas Generaciones (New Generations) of the PP in the Basque Country, presented yesterday the Foundation for the Defence of the Spanish Nation, not yet registered aas such, which he himself heads. The Ministry of Culture has rejected their application to be constituted as a Foundation on the grounds that its objectives coincide with those of the Ministry of Defence. For the moment, they are registered as an association.
"it will be necessary to fill the streets of Spain with resisting compatriots and that they do not resign themselves (...) There's no turning back. Tomorrow will be late". In an almost warlike tone and referring constantly to the reform of the Catalan Statute, Santiago Abascal, chairman of the Nuevas Generaciones (New Generations) of the PP in the Basque Country, presented yesterday the Foundation for the Defence of the Spanish Nation, not yet registered aas such, which he himself heads. The Ministry of Culture has rejected their application to be constituted as a Foundation on the grounds that its objectives coincide with those of the Ministry of Defence. For the moment, they are registered as an association.
The Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) is more of a Christian-Democrat party than the PP is, but the PP successfully lobbied the rest of the EPP to keep the PNV out.
Here they are at it again, putting their foot in their mouth at the behest of the PP. guaranteed to evoke a violent reaction from police is to challenge their right to "define the situation." --- David Graeber citing Marc Cooper
