This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/nov/21/catalonia-tales-independence-divide-marriage
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Catalonia tales: 'We agree on almost everything … just, um, not on this' | Catalonia tales: 'We agree on almost everything … just, um, not on this' |
| (10 days later) | |
| It's a marriage that encapsulates the Catalan predicament. And, days ahead of a vote that could set Catalonia on course towards full independence from Spain – and a head-on collision with Madrid –it's a marriage that is starting to feel the strain. | It's a marriage that encapsulates the Catalan predicament. And, days ahead of a vote that could set Catalonia on course towards full independence from Spain – and a head-on collision with Madrid –it's a marriage that is starting to feel the strain. |
| "We agree on almost everything, almost always," says Joan, a thirtysomething finance officer at a Barcelona insurance firm, laying a gentle but precautionary hand on his wife's arm. "Just, um, not on this. It makes life interesting." | "We agree on almost everything, almost always," says Joan, a thirtysomething finance officer at a Barcelona insurance firm, laying a gentle but precautionary hand on his wife's arm. "Just, um, not on this. It makes life interesting." |
| Across a cafe table in their home town of Terrassa, 20km (12 miles) or so from the regional capital, Joan and Maria say they'd rather not be known by their real names: no one here is sure quite how this recent headlong rush towards independence will turn out, and plenty prefer to err on the side of caution – particularly if they don't approve of it. | Across a cafe table in their home town of Terrassa, 20km (12 miles) or so from the regional capital, Joan and Maria say they'd rather not be known by their real names: no one here is sure quite how this recent headlong rush towards independence will turn out, and plenty prefer to err on the side of caution – particularly if they don't approve of it. |
| For Joan, it's simple: "I'm a typical Catalan, I come from a long line of Catalans, I've spoken Catalan since I could talk. My grandparents wanted independence, my parents fly the flag from their balcony." | For Joan, it's simple: "I'm a typical Catalan, I come from a long line of Catalans, I've spoken Catalan since I could talk. My grandparents wanted independence, my parents fly the flag from their balcony." |
| He believes there are two kinds of people who want independence: those who make rational, factual arguments based on economics, history and years of widely perceived cultural, linguistic and fiscal mistreatment by an excessively centrist government in Madrid, and those who "just feel". | He believes there are two kinds of people who want independence: those who make rational, factual arguments based on economics, history and years of widely perceived cultural, linguistic and fiscal mistreatment by an excessively centrist government in Madrid, and those who "just feel". |
| For Joan, "It's in the heart. I can't do anything about it: I don't feel Spanish. I see someone from Andalusia, and I feel I have nothing special in common with them. I respect them, but I feel no closer to them than I would to a French person. I do think we'd be better off economically, without our taxes subsidising the rest of Spain, too. But mainly, it's a feeling." | For Joan, "It's in the heart. I can't do anything about it: I don't feel Spanish. I see someone from Andalusia, and I feel I have nothing special in common with them. I respect them, but I feel no closer to them than I would to a French person. I do think we'd be better off economically, without our taxes subsidising the rest of Spain, too. But mainly, it's a feeling." |
| Maria, who is unemployed, feels differently. The daughter of parents who moved to Catalonia from elsewhere in Spain, she spoke Spanish at home (and speaks Spanish to Joan, who replies in Catalan) and says she feels "Spanish and Catalan, equally. I cannot understand a Catalan who says they feel closer to another European than to another Spaniard. And above all I ask: would there be this same pro-independence feeling if Catalonia was one of the poorer regions of Spain?" | Maria, who is unemployed, feels differently. The daughter of parents who moved to Catalonia from elsewhere in Spain, she spoke Spanish at home (and speaks Spanish to Joan, who replies in Catalan) and says she feels "Spanish and Catalan, equally. I cannot understand a Catalan who says they feel closer to another European than to another Spaniard. And above all I ask: would there be this same pro-independence feeling if Catalonia was one of the poorer regions of Spain?" |
| Because a lot of it, reckons Maria, is about the money: "Yes, Catalonia gives a lot. But it has received a lot. Franco moved industry here, and workers like my parents came and brought not just prosperity, economic value, but also intellectual and cultural value. You can't ignore that." | Because a lot of it, reckons Maria, is about the money: "Yes, Catalonia gives a lot. But it has received a lot. Franco moved industry here, and workers like my parents came and brought not just prosperity, economic value, but also intellectual and cultural value. You can't ignore that." |
| She would like individual fiscal agreements between every Spanish region and the state: "There has to be solidarity in Spain. The burden just needs to be distributed better." | She would like individual fiscal agreements between every Spanish region and the state: "There has to be solidarity in Spain. The burden just needs to be distributed better." |
| Impatient, Joan interrupts: "We're happy to show solidarity. But it's a question of degree. That 8% fiscal deficit, those €15bn more we give to Spain each year than we get back, it's just too much. It harms us. It hits our economy." | Impatient, Joan interrupts: "We're happy to show solidarity. But it's a question of degree. That 8% fiscal deficit, those €15bn more we give to Spain each year than we get back, it's just too much. It harms us. It hits our economy." |
| But the politics stink, too, says Maria. If Artur Mas and his ruling CiU party win Sunday's regional parliament elections and call an independence referendum, it will be "a victory for political opportunism. That party was never pro-independence before, not until they sensed the popular mood. Now they will capitalise on those independence votes to push liberal, rightwing policies." | But the politics stink, too, says Maria. If Artur Mas and his ruling CiU party win Sunday's regional parliament elections and call an independence referendum, it will be "a victory for political opportunism. That party was never pro-independence before, not until they sensed the popular mood. Now they will capitalise on those independence votes to push liberal, rightwing policies." |
| Joan can barely contain himself: "But that's precisely the point! That shows the desire for independence isn't about politics, it's about people. If it was down to the CiU, nothing would have moved. Society has shifted the CiU, not the other way around. I think Mas has been clever, and brave: he's seen the mood swing." | Joan can barely contain himself: "But that's precisely the point! That shows the desire for independence isn't about politics, it's about people. If it was down to the CiU, nothing would have moved. Society has shifted the CiU, not the other way around. I think Mas has been clever, and brave: he's seen the mood swing." |
| But Maria won't be swayed. For her, she says, "I cannot understand the kind of pro-independence people who define Catalan independence as superiority over the rest of Spain. This insistence that I have to speak Catalan: I can, but I shouldn't have to. And the fact that people speak badly of Spain: as a Catalan with roots outside Catalonia, that's insulting." | But Maria won't be swayed. For her, she says, "I cannot understand the kind of pro-independence people who define Catalan independence as superiority over the rest of Spain. This insistence that I have to speak Catalan: I can, but I shouldn't have to. And the fact that people speak badly of Spain: as a Catalan with roots outside Catalonia, that's insulting." |
| So on Sunday each will vote, differently. Joan has no doubts: this is, potentially, a historic moment. Maria, though, has a problem: the politicians opposing independence, particularly on the left, are "pretty bad. It's a struggle to know who to vote for." And then, she says, smiling sweetly at her husband, "we'll see. Which is more important – feelings, or money. Independence, or solidarity." | So on Sunday each will vote, differently. Joan has no doubts: this is, potentially, a historic moment. Maria, though, has a problem: the politicians opposing independence, particularly on the left, are "pretty bad. It's a struggle to know who to vote for." And then, she says, smiling sweetly at her husband, "we'll see. Which is more important – feelings, or money. Independence, or solidarity." |
| • If you have a story to tell, know someone Jon should talk to or live somewhere you think he should visit, please contact him via email at jon.henley@guardian.co.uk, or Twitter @jonhenley (the hashtag for this journey is #CataloniaTales | • If you have a story to tell, know someone Jon should talk to or live somewhere you think he should visit, please contact him via email at jon.henley@guardian.co.uk, or Twitter @jonhenley (the hashtag for this journey is #CataloniaTales |
| Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. | Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. |
| Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. Enter your email address to subscribe. | Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. Enter your email address to subscribe. |
| Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. |