Spain can't afford a war of secession

The Catalan regional parliament passed a symbolic declaration of sovereignty on Wednesday. The move further paves the way for Catalan independence. These power games with Barcelona come at a very inopportune moment for Madrid, Jean-Michel Demetz writes in his blog Circumnavigatio: "The central government is crushed under the weight of its mission to restructure public finances, stimulate economic growth and put an end to political corruption. Saddled with all this, how is it supposed to deal calmly with the issue of Catalan independence? Naturally the Catalan parliamentarians have called for 'dialogue with the Spanish state' and promise a democratic debate that respects Europe's values. But in practice? At the same time, however, the IMF has just affirmed that 2013 will pan out even worse than 2012 for the Spanish, who are already struggling with a recession. Under such circumstances, can Spain afford the luxury of an institutional crisis and a war of secession?"

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