Canadian Polemic

Perhaps it's not quite that dire, but it's not too far off. I was speaking to my uncle this past weekend, who was visiting from Spain, and he told me briefly about Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero's plans to rather significantly alter the Spanish constitution. Apparently, Zapatero is the kind of guy who is always interested in listening and finding a compromise - the kind of federalist who is willing to deal with the Spanish autonomous regions pretty liberally. And by that, I mean he's willing to give these autonomous regions (similar to Canadian provinces) much, much more power. My uncle was saying that some of the autonomous regions are proposing that they set a limit on how many tax dollars they'll send to Madrid (effectively tying the federal government's fiscal hands) and that Zapatero is open to all suggestions.

My uncle also mentioned that, as Europe is a continent of coalitions, the breakdown in Spain is generally the right-wing party (Partido Popular) against all others. This, in turn, puts the Socialists of Zapatero in bed in most of the autonomous regions and nationally with the separatist movements. This adds an entirely different angle to the discussison.

The Spanish constitution was written in 1978, after the fall of dictator Francisco Franco, and has only been amended once, to allow citizens of the EU to stand in all Spanish elections. Several sections of the constitution are protected - this means that if you want to amend them, you must completely rewrite the entire constitution - they're that central to the philosophy of the Spanish regime.

Zapatero wants to amend some of these protected sections, which is a rather significant change. I think that the most dangerous issue here, however, is the possibility that Spain might become even more decentralized under a new Constitution. Madrid has got to remain strong and in control of, at the very least, its pursestrings. A federal government that is subject to the whims of the provinces on something so fundamental as budgeting is not a very strong federal government. If such reforms were to pass, which they may not due to the 3/5 majority needed in each house, I would think that the Spanish federation would be very tenuous indeed.

Zapatero has got to look long-term and preserve the Spanish federation - even if it causes him trouble in the polls, he should reject his alliances with the separatist movements. The political fragmentation of such an important Western European state would be disasterous. If Zapatero cannot push himself to act truly nationally and in the interests of the Spanish state, voters should put fears of terrorism aside and move quickly in the next election to remove him from office and return a government that will, at the very least, preserve Spanish nationhood.

Related Reading
Spanish Constitution of 1978 (Wikipedia)