The right to decide

Why shouldn´t Catalonia have a referendum on independence? I don´t understand the attitude of the “acting” Spanish government or the “acting” opposition whose negative approach to Catalonia is only fuelling the fires of the independence cause. Opinion polls suggest that the majority of people would vote “No” to a breakaway from Spain. So what is the problem? Those who favour independence for Catalonia are not going to go away, so the government can´t simply disregard their wishes. The theory is that if Catalonia gets a vote then the Basque Country would want the same treatment. Well great. They should have a referendum as well, and the Spanish government and opposition should do their best to persuade them of the merits of being part of Spain. The mainstream parties can no longer continue to ignore the growing calls for independence both in Catalonia and to a lesser extent the Basque Country. The problem needs to be solved once and for all and then Spain can move on. It is said that during the four years in office of Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy the number of people joining parties which support a breakaway from Spain has grown dramatically. I am not surprised. The Spanish government and to a lesser extent the opposition has attempted to bully the “rebelling regions” into submission but not successfully. The only way forward is to allow the people to have their say.