ON A mild evening this week about 300 people gathered in a park in Cornellà de Llobregat, a suburb in Barcelona’s industrial belt, to hear Ines Arrimadas, the young leader of Ciudadanos (Citizens), a centre-right party. She laid into the separatist parties that have governed Catalonia since 2010 and whose declaration of independence in October unleashed a constitutional crisis in Spain. “Their hope is to stop being Spaniards. Ours is to cut hospital waiting lists and have better schools,” she said. “We cannot stretch out the independence process any longer.”
These promises have brought a surge in support for Ciudadanos. According to the opinion polls, it may win the most votes in a regional election that will take place on December 21st (see chart). In a normal contest it might have a hope of forming a coalition government. But this is the most peculiar election Spain has seen since the 1970s, and not only because it is the fourth one in Catalonia in just seven...Continue reading
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