Ian Bunn | Political & Popular Culture Arts

Sam Bollier the American online producer and regular contributor for Al Jazeera English based in Doha, Qatar has published an article titled ‘Catalans press for secession from Spain’ as a regional parliament votes to hold a referendum as surveys show record high support for independence. Bollier states “Could Catalonia become the world’s newest state? The Spanish region – with a culture, history, and language of its own – faces high barriers to becoming a fully independent country. But that hasn’t stopped an emboldened independence movement from trying. On Thursday, the parliament in Catalonia – an affluent but debt-laden region in Spain’s northeast – voted to hold a referendum on independence after elections in November. Some Catalans have long favoured full independence, as opposed to the semi-autonomous status the region currently enjoys. But as Spain’s economy continues to stagnate and unemployment rates remain sky-high, more Catalans are questioning whether they would be better off on their own. …Pro-independence Catalans cite their region’s strong national identity, and note that Catalan taxpayers pay more to the central government than the region receives in return. Long one of the richest and most industralised parts of Spain, data from 2011 shows the region’s GDP per capita is 18 per cent higher than in Spain at large. The central Spanish government, however, is annoyed with the calling of a referendum on independence, even if it is non-binding. Spain’s deputy prime minister, Soraya Saenz de Santamaria, told a news conference that there were “legal and judicial instruments” to stop such a referendum, reported AFP. “And this government is ready to use them.” Given Spain’s precarious economic state, the timing rankled the deputy prime minister, who added on a radio programme that “this debate, at this time, is creating tremendous instability”.”

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I don't have a lot of hope for Greece (June 2nd 2012)

Evi Pappa the Greek Professor of International Macroeconomics and Monetary and Fiscal Policy believes a Greek exit from the euro could have wide-ranging consequences for other European countries. Pappa in an interview with Sam Bollier for Aljazeera, states “The Greek election results express the anger of the Greek population. They had somehow to punish the two political parties that have been in power the past 20 years. So they voted in anger and in protest… I think that most of them realise that leaving the euro is going to be disastrous for Greece. …You would expect three things if Greece leaves the euro: inflation, devaluation, and banking collapse. …Inflation is sometimes good. But the problem is that Greece is not going to experience inflation. It is going to experience, most likely, hyperinflation. Hyperinflation is not good at any time. …Modern Greece, like Antigone [Classic Greek tragedy of Sophocles], is condemned to the austerity measures of the European Commission, burying it alive, and it looks like, when the Europeans come to her mercy, it might be too late – and Greece might commit suicide by deciding to leave the eurozone. I don’t have a lot of hope for Greece.”

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