| Author (Person) | Gardner, David |
|---|---|
| Series Title | Financial Times |
| Series Details | 12.9.12 |
| Publication Date | 12/09/2012 |
| Content Type | News |
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Report of a FT interview with Jordi Pujol, President of the Generalitat, the Catalan government, from 1980 to 2003 and long a bulwark against separatism and a bridge-builder for governments of both right and left. He said that Catalonia no longer fitted within Spain and needed to explore the option of independence. For the first time, opinion polls in 2012 revealed that a majority of Catalans now want an independent state – a demand that reached full voice on the 11 September 2012 in mass rallies marking the Diada, Catalonia’s national day, under the banner of 'Catalonia: a new state in Europe'. Some 1.5m people took part in Catalonia's annual independence rally in Barcelona, according to police. Spain's economic crisis had sharpened Catalonia's demand for fiscal independence from Spain, as well as political autonomy. Catalonia, which is Spain's wealthiest region and represents a fifth of the Spanish economy, wants to be able to raise its own taxes and spend them (as already exists in the Basque Country). |
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| Countries / Regions | Spain |
