The last Catalan elections were in 2006, so there will be new elections to the Catalan Parliament in 2010. It is not unlikely that Laporta would run on an independent(ist) list. He doesn't bring it up, and gives a non-denial denial when the possibility that he'd go into politics is mentioned by the interviewer. Before 2003 he was closely associated with Angel Colom and Pilar Rahola, then leaders of ERC, the left independentist party.
The figure of 700,000 "eligible voters" in this popular referendum should be compared with the following figures from the 2006 elections:
Convergència i Unió 935.756 31,52% 48 seats PSC-Ciutadans pel Canvi 796.173 26,82% 37 Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya 416.355 14,03% 21 Partit Popular 316.222 10,65% 14 Iniciativa per Catalunya Verds - EUIA 282.693 9,52% 12 Ciutadans-Partido de la Ciudadanía 89.840 3,03% 3
Zapatero and his Vice-president have dismissed today's vote as "going nowhere" (it is non-binding) and "not having any legal consequences" but they might have political cnsequences. I think if 700,000 Catalans decide to really press for independence like they haven't so far things might get really "interesting". En un viejo país ineficiente, algo así como España entre dos guerras civiles, poseer una casa y poca hacienda y memoria ninguna. -- Gil de Biedma
This is, of course, a self-selecting sample. Only municipalities where the local government is independentist had a referendum, and the coverage was about 12%. Only between 1/3 and 1/4 of the population cared enough to send a signal to go out and vote yes in a nonbinding vote. And 1%-2% of the population is opposed to independence and takes this weekend's vote seriously enough to go out and vote no. But the result does indicate support for independence Catalonia-wide is close enough to 50%.
The organizers are demanding a "binding" referendum for next April (around the day of Sant Jordi, or Saint George, Catalonia's Patron Saint). En un viejo país ineficiente, algo así como España entre dos guerras civiles, poseer una casa y poca hacienda y memoria ninguna. -- Gil de Biedma
