Visca Catalunya?

[Diable Rouge]

Unlike most European Parliament votes, no MEP breakdown will be made available.

[Sporting]

Why is that, do you know?

[Discordant Resonance]

After a protracted series of negotiations, Pere Aragones becomes the first ERC leader to be voted President of Catalonia after an election since the Thirties (he had been interim head of government since last year, but only due to divisions within Junts per Catalunya):

https://twitter.com/electo_mania/status/1395705037955940353

[DCI Harry Batt]

ECP is some kind of Podemos referent, right?

[Sporting]

ECP is some kind of Podemos referent, right?

Yes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/En_Com%C3%BA_Podem

[DCI Harry Batt]

Thanks.

It's not easy to keep track of. These collectives and parties seem to reform and change name at least every year or two.

[DCI Harry Batt]

So, we've had the imprisoned leaders paroled (they call it a pardon, but it's conditional, so parole is a better word for it). Which is interesting. The new fash (Vox) have gone to the Supreme Court to get them sent back to prison, but even the Supreme Court isn't willing to do that without at least a hearing. Be interesting to see where that goes.

Now there are talks planned between Sanchez and Aragonès, though no-one is saying they will achieve anything.

And to try to disrupt things, the "Court of Accounts" is going after Catalan ex-ministers to try to impose massive fines for acting "ultra vires" during their time in government.

And it's bloody hard to follow this stuff well from here.

[Discordant Resonance]

The Irish artist Seán Scully has left Barcelona after having a studio in the city for 30 years, because of his frustration with Catalan nationalism - which is an entirely reasonable perspective, but living there for as long as he did and seemingly making zero effort to learn Catalan appears deliberately contrarian.

[DCI Harry Batt]

Well fuck him then.

[ad hoc]

Reading that article it sounds like his anger is directed at the language rather than nationalism per se. One can make strong arguments against nationalism, but I don't think one can make strong arguments about people speaking their first language

[Discordant Resonance]

Especially when it turns out he moved there 27 years ago!

[DCI Harry Batt]

Are they going to speak Spanish in the playground at his kid's new school in France?

[Lang Spoon]

Let's just say he's a wanker.

[ad hoc]

Let's just say he's a wanker.

Or a cabró

[elguapo4]

He sounds like your typical entitled Irish ex pat. Probably spends his time going on about how Ireland "let him down ".

[Sporting]

He was lucky he wasn't living in parts of the region where Catalan is spoken much more widely than in the capital.

[Lang Spoon]

Yeah, he'd have starved to death in Olot. Fuckin guiris man.

[Discordant Resonance]

Constitutional talks on the status of Catalonia began today between both governments.

[Sporting]

Pedro Sánchez has a super-difficult balancing act to perform.

[Discordant Resonance]

Carles Puigdemont has been arrested in Alghero/Alguer, ironically the Catalan city on Sardinia, and faces a court hearing on a potential extradition today.

[DCI Harry Batt]

It's not really ironic, it's the reason he was there.

[Etienne]

A FORMER senior officer in Spain’s National Police Corps has said the 2017 terror attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils were organised by the country’s secret service in a bid to destabilise Catalonia before the independence referendum there.