Let’s keep calm and do it our way

When people began to become more active in the independence issue and were faced with Spain’s negative reaction, someone resurrected a famous British WWII slogan “Keep calm and carry on.” It appealed to the British population to act as if nothing had happened, although times were tough. This is the attitude we need to keep in mind in Catalonia right at the moment, just when there is more pressure coming from the state. Pressure from the judicial arm of government because Spain has yet to learn that political problems are solved with politics. It shows the Spanish government is powerless to stop the peaceful, democratic deliberation on October 1. As a result, it finds no alternative but intimidation. Incidentally, to set the legal system into action with such precision is highly suspicious.

There is a sarcasm in those who accuse the Catalans of staging a coup but who are in fact in the process of staging one themselves, with the presence of armed officers in government institutions and the arrest of some of its officials. It will not make a difference even though it aims to achieve several objectives. One example is to prove it is taking tough measures, in response to demands from a small but influential portion of Spanish public opinion. Another objective -and we will see more in coming days as the level of desperation increases, is to frighten the Catalans so that they will not turn out to vote on October 1 and the PP can claim a victory. Because that is how politics works in Spain: it is not a process of agreements and understandings but rather a battle where there are winners and losers. They want to frighten us? Let us keep calm and on track. Peacefully, that is how we do things.