Antoni Bassas' analysis: 'The flag returns'
Given the current state of the world, our problems are more modest and long-standing, such as financing (and therefore public services), commuter trains, housing, or the fact that the most highly educated are leaving to work abroad. This is the problem: the years go by, and the country's challenges are not resolved with either the extra-strong prescription of independence or the softer one of well-understood autonomism.
With 48 hours to go until the Diada, the state of the world, especially the Israeli massacre in Gaza, dominates the news. This morning, The Flotilla has reported a drone attack on one of its main vessels, docked in Tunisia.This is the moment. The alleged attack caused a fire, but no one was harmed.
What has caused something more than a diplomatic fire has been theYesterday's announcement by Pedro Sánchez, by which Spain embargoes arms sales to Israel and prohibits it from providing logistical support.The Israeli Foreign Minister wasted no time in calling Sánchez "corrupt and anti-Semitic," while laughing a bit at the measures, pointing out that Israel is in no way weakened by Spain's arms embargo and that, on the other hand, Spain's security depends much more on wiretapping technology (Pegasus). Regardless of sympathies for Palestinians or Israelis, Sánchez has read the general mood and has given a (relatively comfortable, considering Spain's international weight) response to everyone's anguished comment: How come no one is doing anything? By the way, the massacre will only get worse: the Israeli army this morning ordered the residents of Gaza City to evacuate the city center before a new offensive to take control. Netanyahu addressed the situation directly: "To the residents of Gaza: seize this opportunity and listen to me carefully. We have warned you. Get out of there!"
With the state of the world in this state, with the French government fallen (three prime ministers have already fallen in just over a year, since the last elections) due to the public deficit, our problems are more modest and older, such as financing (and therefore, public services) or Cercanías, or housing, or that the best trained leave to work abroad. This is the problem: the years go by and the country's challenges are not resolved either with the extra-strong recipe of independence or with the softer one of well-understood autonomism.
Regarding this last point, the article we published today signed by Jaume Collboni, Mayor of Barcelona, is about it. It turns out that the day after tomorrow, a 25-meter-high pole will be unveiled in Ciutadella Park, in front of the Parliament, from which a 54-square-meter flag will fly. The initiative was promoted by the Speaker of the Parliament, Josep Rull. The idea is to raise the flag every year to kick off the Diada events.
Well, Collboni says he enthusiastically joins the event and that "Now that Catalonia has begun a new political phase of normalization and civic reunion, it is necessary to highlight the flag as a symbol of unity.The implicit reference to the Estelada as a symbol of only a portion of Catalans is obvious, but it explains where we are: climbing the mountain again and again, as if we were Sisyphus.
Good morning.
