I would like to make some remarks regarding your editorial on the so-called referendum in Catalonia (Spain has stonewalled too long on Catalonia. It’s time for Madrid to change its strategy, 11 November).
The basic principle of the rule of law demands that public powers acknowledge and abide by the concept of legality. In the case of Spain, that means we must respect our constitution and our courts. The Spanish government has not, as you say, “laid down that a formal vote on Catalan independence is unconstitutional”. The constitutional court, the highest authority on constitutional issues, ruled that the so-called referendum could not take place, and after that the Spanish government did what all democratic governments are supposed to do: uphold the law.
This is not a political decision, but a legal and constitutional fact. Moreover, last April 85% of the Spanish parliament, where national sovereignty lies, voted that the Catalan government has no power to call any such referendum.
Stating that the poll held on 9 November “showed an overwhelming majority for independence on a turnout of about 2.2 million” is, to say the least, a hasty conclusion. More than 70% of the Catalan electorate either did not bother to vote or voted against independence in this “symbolic vote”. But in any case it is a fruitless exercise to analyse the figures of a vote that lacks all legal and democratic guarantees.
The “British approach”, as you call it, cannot be applied to Spain, because the political and constitutional realities differ. Our written constitution (which was voted for by an overwhelming majority of Spaniards, including 90% of Catalans) enshrines the unity of the Spanish nation. It gives a huge degree of autonomy to the regions but not the right to self-determination of any part of the country – as is the case in all the written constitutions of western democracies. Therefore, the Spanish government cannot concede this right to one region, or even negotiate about it, without first reforming the constitution.
If the Catalan government really intends to seek a legal vote on independence, the Catalan parliament can certainly make a proposal to reform it, since that is the only legal path that can be used.
Federico Trillo-Figueroa
Ambassador of Spain to the UK
