Beyond our borders

Xammar and Diplocat

The group continues to do the same work, but since September 2012 the government has been more involved in promoting Catalonia abroad. First, there was the creation of the Eugeni Xammar programme, named after the 20th century Catalan correspondent. This initiative aimed to create an international office for media and public relations, though the project was left half done due to a lack of funds and has focused on providing support to the Generalitat's foreign office. Then, at the start of 2013, the Patronat Catalunya-Món was turned into the Consell de Diplomàcia Pública de Catalunya (Diplocat), a semi-private body that set about making contacts with foreign organisation and media outlets.

Between them, the initiatives have led to diplomatic visits by foreign public figures and journalists, who have seen the reality of the country first-hand and spoken to government officials. Also, a dozen or so conferences have been organised to debate the sovereignty process in different European universities (including Spanish ones) and, since 2013, two score opinion articles on the subject have appeared in the foreign media by high-profile figures such as Artur Mas or the economy minister, Andreu Mas-Colell.

“It remains a minor issue for them, but in general we have found a good willingness to engage,” says Diplocat's Martí Estruch, who stresses the success of visits by foreign journalists, despite initial doubts. “They do not want to feel strong-armed, but it is a journey of discovery, not propaganda,” he adds.

What is also true is that many initiatives have received a response from the Spanish government, which has applied pressure to prevent events taking place abroad. One example was the unsuccessful attempt in Lisbon and another was the Utrecht event, where the government prevented the presentation of the novel, Victus. Moreover, the Spanish authorities have promoted articles from ambassadors in places like London, Rome and Reykjavik, where a recent article openly criticised Mas writing in the foreign media. In fact, Diplocat reports that Spanish ambassadors put pressure on the media to ignore Catalan demands, sometimes with success, especially smaller outlets.

That the rise in Catalonia's international profile has coincided with the sovereignty process and the Scottish referendum has helped capture the attention of the international press: “The Scottish debate did not reach its high point in the international press until a poll appeared forecasting a 'yes' vote, but here the conflict is a permanent one and the coverage has been more linear,” says foreign secretary, Roger Albinyana. And so far there has been no falling away of interest, as can be seen from the likes of the prestigious US magazine, Newsweek, starting 2015 by including the Catalan situation among its top ten world issues for the year.

Favourable editorials

Yet, overall the government is positive about the country's international profile, especially with a number of influential foreign media outlets declaring in favour of the right to decide (though not independence).

“In the past few months there have not only been news items evaluating the situation, but also editorials explicitly calling for negotiations between the Spanish and Catalan governments to find a solution that respects the will of the Catalan people,” says Albinyana, who adds: “It is extremely important and undeniable progress.”

While the majority of these articles seem to support a federal model or one based on fiscal agreement, they also express confusion and criticism of the Rajoy government's unwillingness to offer alternatives, which in their eyes provides more legitimacy to the sovereignty thesis.

After a couple of months of deadlock, the agreement on January 14 to call plebiscite elections on September 27 and the setting of an 18-month road map towards independence has returned the Catalan issue to the media front line. Outlets such as the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, the BBC, Euronews, the US CNBC, Germany's Die Welt and even Vatican Radio have all reported on the issue, along with news agencies such as the Associated Press, Reuters, France Press or Ansa, all used by many media outlets around the world. All of this opens the way to a new analysis, in which party squabbling is seen as an obstacle to the process and the rise of Podemos could radically change expectations, both in Catalonia and in Spain as a whole.

Whatever happens next, international media coverage of the situation is an important element in the process and, in the opinion of Estruch “Catalonia has already won the game.”