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Update 10 (July 2006)

The Beach and the Ballot Box: the Catalan autonomy referendum of June 2006

Spain is sometimes characterised by political scientists as an example of ‘asymmetric’ or ‘hybrid’ federalism: some of its regions (or communidades autonomas) enjoy more autonomy than others (see Chapter 2). And the process is ongoing; those regions left behind play catch-up and those originally out in front demand more. At the forefront of such demands is Catalunya, dominated by the city of Barcelona. With a history, going back centuries, of independence from the Spanish crown and, more recently, of repression by the dictator, General Franco, who ruled Spain from the 1930s to the 1970s, the region has a strong claim to be a special case.

The issue has long divided left and right in Spain, with the former showing a good deal more flexibility than the latter, which maintains that too many concessions will eventually lead to the break up of the country. The estatut d’autonomia - a revision of the charter establishing the rights and powers of the region vis-à-vis central government in Madrid - which was passed by the Spanish parliament in March 2006 was at first glance no different. The social democratic PSOE government got its way over the protests of the main opposition, the conservative PP. Subject to a referendum later in the year, Catalunya would gain more control over taxation and justice and home affairs and even its ports and airports.

However, dig a little deeper and things were a little more complicated: views on the charter cross-cut left-right divides. To some Catalan nationalists on the left, including the Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC), the revised charter had been so diluted in negotiations that it was worse than nothing: the idea, for instance, that Catalunya would at last be recognised as a nation were misleading, it was claimed. As a result, the ERC and other radical nationalists recommended a no vote in the referendum, putting them on the same side as arch-enemies, the PP. It of course was recommending rejection of the charter not because it didn’t go far enough but because it went too far!

Lined up against them were not just PSOE, and its Catalan sister party, PSC, which at the time of the referendum ran the region, but also the centre-right opposition, the CiU. The CiU still regards itself as the region’s ‘natural party of government’ and continues to be an influential player in national as well as regional politics. Indeed, he CiU’s leader, Artur Mas was widely assumed to have had a hand in the deal with Spanish prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero that had led to the passing of the charter by the national parliament.

The charter and the referendum on it was always bound to interest Spaniards outside Catalunya, but its potential knock-on effects were thrown into sharp relief when a General in the Spanish armed forces (which controlled the country under Franco and units of which attempted a coup against newly democratic Spain in 1981) appeared to suggest that too much autonomy could provoke a military response. Meanwhile, the announcement by Basque terrorist group, ETA of a ceasefire was - rightly or wrongly - being connected to the flexibility shown by the Zapatero government towards greater regional autonomy. The nitty-gritty of the charters 200-plus clauses, not surprisingly, attracted little attention outside Catalunya, although the extent to which those living in the region - many of whom migrated there from other parts of Spain to take advantage of its comparatively strong economy - would be obliged to ‘know’ the Catalan language was a national as well as regional talking point.

When the referendum was held, some 74% voted yes, with 21% voting no - a resounding victory, although one that the opposition attempted to undermine by pointing to a turnout just under 50%. Clearly many had preferred the beach to the ballot box, but their absence was much more likely to do with the predictable result (or just plain lack of interest) as it was an expression of opposition. In some countries - notably Italy - referendums have to secure a prescribed turnout to count as valid. But not in Spain. So Catalunya has its new charter. Whether that will be an end to demands for more autonomy remains to be seen.

Ironically, just a week later, Italian voters - somewhat unusually given their recent reluctance - did turn out in sufficient numbers to make their country’s latest referendum count. Or at least they would have done had they voted yes. In fact, they voted no - much to the relief of the new centre-left government and the chagrin of the right wing parties in opposition. The question? Whether they should grant more powers to the country’s regions!

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