It's not the F-word, or identity politics, that's the problem, it's the BS

David Gardner's article in the Financial Times this morning gives a good background for the secessionist movement in Catalonia, and suggests federalism is a possible answer, despite the reticence of the Spanish (and British) governments. He writes, 'The eventual answer to this problem does not have to be either separatism or unionism (monarchy is a secondary issue). It could as well be a creative form of federalism, even though federalism as a word, let alone a formula, sends semantic shivers up the political spine of both countries.'

Gardner describes a 'curious reluctance' to discuss federalism, even as he describes the seismic event that has triggered the surge in Catalan pro-independence: the Spanish Constitutional Court's evisceration of the Catalan Statute of Autonomy, passed in a popular referendum and in both the Catalan and Spanish parliaments. The Statute of Autonomy was Catalonia's best effort at federalism and the Spanish government spit in its face.

But Gardner gets it wrong when he says 'identity politics… catches anyone suggesting federal solutions in its crossfire'. It is not identity politics that has undermined federalism's credibility, but the clear lack of traction that any pro-federalist proposals get in Spain. We have heard multiple times how PSC (Catalan Socialist Party) is negotiating a federalist option with their PSOE counterparts in Madrid that will serve the 'special needs' of Catalonia, only to have the PSOE leadership debunk those assertions within hours. Or PSOE promises a nebulous federalist reform of the Constitution which it knows it could never get through Congress. PSC's implosion—as dissenters speak up and desert the party almost daily—is not due to a conflict about Catalanism, but to the PSC's obvious and growing impotence.

That no one is considering real federalism in Spain is a question of wanting to hold onto the reins of power and the economic benefits thereof. That no one is considering real federalism in Catalonia is because they are tired of talk of unicorns and rainbows.

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Liz Castro is coordinator of VilaWeb's English edition.

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The Statute of Autonomy was Catalonia's best effort at federalism and the Spanish government spit in its face.