It's quite a sight watching how, in the Congress of Deputies, Mariano Rajoy and Albert Rivera are being literally torn apart. The Spanish right are at each others' throats to capitalise on the state's repression of Catalonia. No qualms at all. And no shame at all. Nine Catalan political and social leaders in pretrial detention, some for over 200 days now, and another seven in exile between Germany, Belgium, Scotland and Switzerland. Autonomy kidnapped by the Spanish government and the repression comfortably standing out with accusations one day against the teachers in Catalan schools, another against the Catalan public media and, in between, political and legal threats and warnings whilst the list of people under investigation by Barcelona's court 13 keeps growing.
And in this context, Rivera takes the podium and stands his ground. Ciudadanos's leader goes as far as saying "you're a wimp" to the prime minister and threatens him with dropping his support for article 155 and with Ciudadanos distancing themselves from the government. Luckily, there's no article in the Constitution which would allow for greater repression of Catalonia in peacetime, otherwise it would be time to start trembling. It's possible that Ciudadanos didn't like the recent official survey which still puts PP at the head of the constitutionalist parties in voting intention around Spain and has decided to shift up another gear. Taking charge of the A por ellos ("go get 'em") side, the pro-Spain standard bearer for repressing the independence movement.
It's ever curious that, in Madrid, the battle isn't being fought for who is most willing to promote negotiation and dialogue, but precisely the opposite. Not even PSOE dares try, devoured in the only political conversation heard on the other side of the river Ebro. As such, whilst Rivera was attacking Rajoy, the prime minister, somewhere between surprised and annoyed, asked him to show the same loyalty as PSOE in such an important topic. Its Catalan branch feels a slight earthquake every time the right gives it that dangerous embrace as it would like to go more unnoticed and if it was nothing to do with them. President Montilla1 already said on Catalan channel TV3 the other day that he had left the Senate when it was voting on article 155. True, although, with time, that scene has been erased to show a united trio of PP-PSOE and Cs.
And whilst these scenes took place in Madrid, the president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, in a speech in the Flemish Parliament, urged for dialogue between Spain and Catalonia. It's very little, but coming from the Luxembourger, intransigent as almost anyone, it's quite the novelty. Maybe he's hearing whispers of how things are going in Germany and Belgium with the whole topic of the European arrest warrants and the malaise with Spanish justice. Merkel doesn't like problems and lies much either.
Translator's note: 1. José Montilla was president of Catalonia 2006-2010 for PSC (the Catalan affiliate of PSOE). He is now a senator in Madrid for the party. Former presidents of Catalonia keep it as a courtesy title for life.