If what is happening in Spain wasn't happening in Spain ...

What would we be saying if what happened in the Spanish Congress had happened in Westminster? If some Scottish MPs —one of them the winner of the elections in Scotland— had been allowed to briefly leave the prison where they were held on remand to be sworn into office. If the chamber —spitting in the face of Montesquieu (1)— had to decide itself whether to suspend them or not and, therefore, whether the votes of the majority of Scots were effectively to be tossed in the trash. And they decided it now, not when the elections were called, because they hoped that by keeping the MPs out of sight (in pre-trial prison for more than one year, under fabricated charges) they would not be voted in, and then the MPs would be able to say: "I believe in democracy".

What would we say if one of the opposition MPs in the British Parliament had exclaimed, as one of the Scottish elected prisoners was being sworn into office: "F**k you, scumbag!". If the cameras boradcasting the event did not show them as they took their oaths! If reporters were banned from taking pictures and videos, and doing interviews with them!

We have come from years of Franco-ism in which the idea of homeland was imposed by the force of blows, and in which the Catalan language was prohibited. All to no avail. One thing is clear, seeing the show on Tuesday: many, many, many Catalans do not feel Spanish, as we do not feel Italian, and we would like to see Spain as an ally and not as an obligation like the draft. But, above all, something else is clear, which is directly related to this. For Albert Rivera and his ilk, most Catalans (those represented by imprisoned politicians) are not their fellow countrymen. He hates us, and he shows it with the sort of tweets you’d exepect from a teenager who’s been put in charge.

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Translator’s note:

(1) in reference to the French philosopher who articulated the concept of separation of powers.