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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/nov/20/readers-panel-independent-catalonia-spain
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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Would Catalonia be better as an independent nation? | Would Catalonia be better as an independent nation? |
| (about 1 month later) | |
| 'It would improve social welfare, education and infrastructures' | 'It would improve social welfare, education and infrastructures' |
| Catalans have had enough of belonging to a state where their language and culture are not respected and where their industry and economy are systematically stifled by centralist parties. | Catalans have had enough of belonging to a state where their language and culture are not respected and where their industry and economy are systematically stifled by centralist parties. |
| An independent Catalonia would be better providing its new leaders take the opportunity to make a well overdue restructuring and modernisation of all legislative and judicial departments which at the moment depend on the central government. The endless bureaucracy involved in many areas of public administration is still a vestige of Franco, with no signs of any central government improving this. It takes months to set up a new company, whereas elsewhere it takes a day. The judicial system is exasperatingly clogged and slow, making it impossible for people to believe in it - the Prestige case has taken ten years to come to court. The Catalan health service is recognised as the best in Spain but the cost of running it is pushed up by its being used by people from the rest of the country. | An independent Catalonia would be better providing its new leaders take the opportunity to make a well overdue restructuring and modernisation of all legislative and judicial departments which at the moment depend on the central government. The endless bureaucracy involved in many areas of public administration is still a vestige of Franco, with no signs of any central government improving this. It takes months to set up a new company, whereas elsewhere it takes a day. The judicial system is exasperatingly clogged and slow, making it impossible for people to believe in it - the Prestige case has taken ten years to come to court. The Catalan health service is recognised as the best in Spain but the cost of running it is pushed up by its being used by people from the rest of the country. |
| And with the extra 20 billion euros that Catalan tax payers currently pay to Madrid every year and are not returned, a lot could be done to improve social welfare, education and infrastructures. | And with the extra 20 billion euros that Catalan tax payers currently pay to Madrid every year and are not returned, a lot could be done to improve social welfare, education and infrastructures. |
| - Michelle Przemyk | - Michelle Przemyk |
| 'Catalonia would no longer be a support fund for the rest of Spain' | 'Catalonia would no longer be a support fund for the rest of Spain' |
| If Catalonia becomes independent and that process is led by the current CiU government, then judging by the policies they have implemented over the last two years we can expect a skeleton welfare state, big tax breaks for foreign multinationals, public funds to pay off the private debts of banks and a close relationship with the unionist PP on most economic and social issues. | If Catalonia becomes independent and that process is led by the current CiU government, then judging by the policies they have implemented over the last two years we can expect a skeleton welfare state, big tax breaks for foreign multinationals, public funds to pay off the private debts of banks and a close relationship with the unionist PP on most economic and social issues. |
| This is not the change that many Catalans who want to be part of an independent state are looking for, though and the advantages are clear if the left leaning social majority here can take political control: Catalonia would no longer become a support fund for the rest of Spain, resources could be used to improve the country's infrastructures and much cultural and economic energy would be released in the euphoria of independence. At a stroke we could rid ourselves of the dysfunctional monarchy, the bastions of reaction that are the army and the Spanish Church and the insidious influence of the right wing Madrid media. | This is not the change that many Catalans who want to be part of an independent state are looking for, though and the advantages are clear if the left leaning social majority here can take political control: Catalonia would no longer become a support fund for the rest of Spain, resources could be used to improve the country's infrastructures and much cultural and economic energy would be released in the euphoria of independence. At a stroke we could rid ourselves of the dysfunctional monarchy, the bastions of reaction that are the army and the Spanish Church and the insidious influence of the right wing Madrid media. |
| What will happen to Spain? Will Catalan independence help the Basques to achieve freedom? If that happens, what will be left of Spain – a rump centralised state, increasingly reactionary and economically crippled ? And Barça? Surely the Spanish clubs wouldn't want to kill the golden goose of TV payments that would be contingent on Barça staying in La Liga – perhaps renamed ·La Liga Iberica! | What will happen to Spain? Will Catalan independence help the Basques to achieve freedom? If that happens, what will be left of Spain – a rump centralised state, increasingly reactionary and economically crippled ? And Barça? Surely the Spanish clubs wouldn't want to kill the golden goose of TV payments that would be contingent on Barça staying in La Liga – perhaps renamed ·La Liga Iberica! |
| - Nick Bedson | - Nick Bedson |
| 'Independence is the only way forward if we are to heal old wounds' | 'Independence is the only way forward if we are to heal old wounds' |
| Having spent most of my life between Barcelona and Madrid, I find myself in a position opposite to those Catalans who have never visited the Spanish capital, and yet feel a sort of invisible hatred coming from there towards them. Some in Madrid will tell you how much they dislike their North-East neighbours for no particular reason. If you ever come to Barcelona you will hear people bandying about the idea of how much better off they would be without Spain. But do not let them kid you, this has little to do with numbers and a lot with old, silly tribalism. | Having spent most of my life between Barcelona and Madrid, I find myself in a position opposite to those Catalans who have never visited the Spanish capital, and yet feel a sort of invisible hatred coming from there towards them. Some in Madrid will tell you how much they dislike their North-East neighbours for no particular reason. If you ever come to Barcelona you will hear people bandying about the idea of how much better off they would be without Spain. But do not let them kid you, this has little to do with numbers and a lot with old, silly tribalism. |
| I am by no means in agreement with those Catalan separatists but I believe independence is the only way forward if we are to heal old wounds. Because when things start going downhill, when the new-born economy plummets and unemployment rises across the region, perhaps those fierce independentists will realise they were not so special, not so different to their neighbours after all. When there is no enemy to blame and no excuses left, perhaps they will start looking within themselves in search for the cause of their problems. Some of them might even start suspecting they were being lied to throughout their history, and travel to previously uncharted territories, such as Madrid, with an open mind and no fear of being "misunderstood", "hated" or being "looked down upon", realising that it all was, for the most part, only a myth. Just like two brothers in the midst of a family argument that goes back to generations, we both might find a way to reconcile and begin a renewed, healthier relationship. | I am by no means in agreement with those Catalan separatists but I believe independence is the only way forward if we are to heal old wounds. Because when things start going downhill, when the new-born economy plummets and unemployment rises across the region, perhaps those fierce independentists will realise they were not so special, not so different to their neighbours after all. When there is no enemy to blame and no excuses left, perhaps they will start looking within themselves in search for the cause of their problems. Some of them might even start suspecting they were being lied to throughout their history, and travel to previously uncharted territories, such as Madrid, with an open mind and no fear of being "misunderstood", "hated" or being "looked down upon", realising that it all was, for the most part, only a myth. Just like two brothers in the midst of a family argument that goes back to generations, we both might find a way to reconcile and begin a renewed, healthier relationship. |
| - Rodrigo Núñez | - Rodrigo Núñez |
| Now it's your turn - how would you answer the question? Give your view and tell us where it comes from, in a comment below. | Now it's your turn - how would you answer the question? Give your view and tell us where it comes from, in a comment below. |
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