Catalans support increased autonomy

Low turn-out in the referendum held in Catalonia, Spain.

Just under 50 percent of voters took part in the referendum to determine Catalan support for the proposed reform which will give Catalonia increased autonomous power. The result, with nearly 74 percent in favour of the new Statute and just over 24 percent against, was a clear victory for the parties backing the "yes" vote. Both the Popular Party and the ERC Catalan Republican Separatist Party had, for different reasons, urged their voters to vote against the new Statute in the campaign leading up to the referendum.

However, despite the clear result, the low turnout out enabled the losing parties to emphasise low participation rather than talk about the result. The last referendum held in Catalonia was in 1979 when Catalans were asked to express their opinion about the statute of autonomy which was passed then and which, on the basis of the result of yesterday's referendum, will be replaced by the new one after the next regional elections. Amost 60 percent of catalan voters participated in the 1979 referendum, although given the fact that it was held just four years after Franco's death and so the right to vote was still very recent for Spaniards, the turn-out then wasn't very impressive either.

The President of the Catalan coalition government Pascual Maragall told reporters that even though he would have preferred a higher level of participation, the "yes" result represented a clear victory for the Government and for Catalonia. And Carod Rovira, the controversial leader of ESC said he accepted the result, but that the whole referendum had been carried out according to the style and arguments of national politics which, in his opinion, was bound to compromise the final result. The ERC leadership had asked voters to vote against the statute because they felt it was insufficient, although many party members probably voted in favour in the end. Mariano Rajoy, leader of the Popular Party who had supported the no vote in order to preserve the unity of Spain, rather predictably used his press conference to urge Rodriguez Zapatero to halt the whole process of increased autonomy. And CIU leader Artur Mas, who many predict will be the next President of Catalonia, celebrated the result and said it was now time to work towards the election of a strong government.

Related:
Congress debates new Catalan Statute
Breakthrough in talks over new statute for Catalonia
Get to know Catalonia:
Guide to Barcelona
Guide to Gerona
Guide to Tarragona
Guide to Lerida

Spain basks in world cup glory

Yesterday evening the streets in Spain were as noisy and full of themselves as they had been silent between three 0'clock and five 0'clock as the whole nation seemed to retire to watch their team play its first world cup match.

For the first time in recent world cups, Spain seemed in general realistic, if not fatalistic, about their team's chances of reaching the World Cup Final. The team had a difficult job qualifying, and most commentators here seemed to think that getting to the quarter finals would be a feat in itself. Yesterday's match has changed all that, and most of Spain (with the exception of the team manager, Luis Aragones) now seems to be convinced that the Spanish team has half won the cup already!

It certainly was a great performance, and the mixture of experienced players and new, explosive talent Luis Aragones fielded yesterday paid off as the team played its best match in years. Aragones is one of Spain's most experienced, controversial, stubborn and serious managers. When he was interviewed after the match, he was quick to remind the euphoric reporters that one good result wasn't going to win Spain the World Cup, and his overall demeanor was as grumpy as ever. Yet Aragones is extremely popular with his players, and during his career he has specialised in lifting underdogs and badly performing teams to previously unthought-of heights in the league.

Aragones has kept his team on a tight leash over the past few weeks, arranged countless practice matches with other teams or between reserves and first-team players, and has been keen to field players who are new to the Spanish side, but whose form in the league this year has been stunning, and whose motivation and level of fitness are optimum. Quite a few commentators were critical of his decision to keep captain Raul on the bench in favour of the much less experienced Villa (the second highest goal scorer in the Spanish league this season), but after the game yesterday the unexpected tactic was unanimously praised by all. The team benefitted from Villa's bubbly skill during the first 50 minutes of the match, and from Raul's stabilising influence towards the end.

A few days ago we published an article in one of our Spanish blogs predicting surprises and unexpected successes for this Spanish side, precisely because of the fact that their country was not expecting great things of the players this time, and because of Luis Aragones's capability to achieve near miracles with other mediocre sides in the past. And also the fact that this is proving to be a great year for Spanish sports: Barcelona Champions League winners, Nadal going from strength to strength in tennis, Alonso winner of the last grand prix.....

The national football team still has alot to do, and if there is one thing that past Spain teams (like England) have excelled at, it is suddenly losing apparantly easy matches in World and European competitions. However, if Luis Aragones manages to keep morale high and expectations humble among his players, we may be in for a few more pleasant surprises.

See: Videos of Spain's goals against Ukraine and Videos of Spain's goals against Tunisia

Related: Spain's football coach fined for racist comments

Prince Asturias Prize 2006

Mary Robinson awarded Prince Asturias Prize

The former President of Ireland has become the first ever woman to be awarded the prestigious Principe de Asturias prize for Social Sciences. During the ceremony, the jury underlined the “moral fibre” of Mary Robinson and her firm commitment to the defense of human rights.

Mary Robinson attended the award ceremony accompanied by British sociologist Sir Ralf Dahrendorf, US economist Paul Anthony Samuelson and former chairman of the Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan.

The jury underlined Robinson’s commitment to the “most noble” values, and her life-long dedication to attempting to overcome the many barriers that prevent so many men and women from enjoying full human rights. The jury also mentioned Robinson’s efforts to achieve balanced international relations and introduce human values into a globalised world, by offering her unconformist, brave and wide-reaching voice to people who have no voice or cannot make themselves heard.

Mary Robinson served as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights from 1997 to 2002 and is currently Honorary President of Oxfam. She joins the growing list of other 2006 Asturias prize-winners. So far this year the following people or institutions have received the recognition of the Asturias Prize jury, chaired by Prince Felipe:

• National Geographic (Prize for Communication and Humanities)
• Bill and Melinda Gates (Prize for International Cooperation)
• Pedro Almodovar (Prize for Arts)
• Juan Ignacio Cruz (Technical and Scientific Research) and
• Paul Auster (Literature).

Spain's main political parties clash over Basque peace process

After endless quibbling about how the Basque peace process should be managed, relations between Spain's governing Socialist Party and the main opposition Popular Party hit yet another low yesterday, when the PP Secretary General, Angel Acebes, accused President Rodriguez Zapatero of sharing the same project as ETA and of giving the terrorists what they wanted. And in a radio interview, Mariano Rajoy claimed that the Government was "in the hands of ETA".

The spokesman of the Socialists responded to the accusations by underlining his party's desire for all political parties to participate in the peace process and insinuated that the declarations reflected internal divisions in the PP, and frustration within party ranks at their leader's performance during the Nation Debate held in parliament last week.

Ever since Zapatero announced his intention to begin talks with the Basque terrorist Group last month, 2 months after ETA called the permanent ceasefire, leaders of the Popular Party have expressed their reticence to any negotiations starting before the terrorist group is dissolved and its members renounce all violence and apologise to the victims of their terrorist acts. Their leader, Mariano Rajoy, said his party would support the process as long as ETA fulfilled these conditions.

Last week during a radio interview Patxi Lopez, leader of the Basque wing of the Socialist Party, said that members of the Basque Socialist Party would hold local preliminary talks with members of the illegal political wing of ETA before Zapatero's programmed appearance in Congress to formally announce the start of peace talks.

The Popular Party immediately withdrew all its support from the peace process and announced its intention to put forward a motion in Congress today to prevent the government from going ahead with negotiations. The text of the PP motion argues that negotation with an illegal terrorist organization is not possible and that the disappearance of ETA should be a necessary condition before any talks are held. No other political party in Congress is expected to support the motion and polls show that the majority of Spaniards support negotiations.

Meanwhile, Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams has begun a three-day visit to Spain today in a bid to support the Basque peace process. He will visit Madrid, Barcelona and Bilbao. Many political commentators in Spain suspect that Adams has had a key role in persuading ETA to call a permanent cease-fire.

Related:
Negotiations between government and ETA
Spanish government and ETA negotiate possible ceasefire
Government proposes talks with ETA
Gerry Adams interviewed during his visit to Spain