With a well-timed bomb planted on a train in Madrid in 2004, Al Qaeda was able to force a political crisis in Spain, the downfall of the existing government, and the victory of the party that gave Al Qaeda the results it was seeking.
It is only one episode of many that give me little respect for the Spaniards to maintain their country as is. In spite of the EU super-bureacracy, the trend in Europe seems to be towards fragmentation and decline. Spain is a prime example.
Yes, and a Catalonian referndum may well be the incident that causes the final implosion of the euro - and with that the EU.
I may be a tad optimistic, but Spain without Catalonia is even more of an economic basket case than presently. Add to that that Spain will be able to veto a Catalonian accession to the EU - one of the few areas where the nations still have the right to veto Council decisions.
It looks like our present day polticians are competing on whether to create a new 1930s or a new 1914. The Spanish situation is getting similar to 1936.
But in 2008 Obama put forth Spain as an example to us in creating jobs and a vibrant economy with green energy. He did stop talking about it when it all blew up.