A Lost Opportunity To Explore The Spanish Far Right's Real Fuse?

First: Whatever the caption of this article's first photo says, that is not a unionist demonstration. It's a far-right demonstration. The blue and red flag on the right side of the image represents "La Falange" (the Spanish NSDP). That's the party in Franco's one-party regime, so they're not exactly a democratic bunch. That said, I have to express some criticism of this text which, however, makes a good point at the end.

The dispatch tries to dissect Madrid's atmosphere as we hold our breath before whatever happens in Catalonia in exactly a week. I liked its description of the total absence of visual cues of the Catalan referendum. It's true that a walk in the capital won't show any of the usual signs of a campaign, and that's an important point. Madrid is officially convinced that nothing will happen.

However, I have to say the author's sources are quite unsatisfying. The main interviews are with people from the same group, a left-wing platform that opposes this referendum. This could be relevant, but you may need some additional background: The left is not typically unionist in Spain. Progressives are usually identified with de-centralization, albeit not universally. That doesn't mean that they are pro-independence, but a casual reader may ask himself or herself why this journalist is paying so much attention to the left. I suspect that's why, but she should have gone into more detail for the international reader's sake.

So let's go back to the main photo, and the very good point of this article. At the end, she introduces an academic to explain that a unilateral declaration of independence could stem the far right in Spain. I must agree with that. A few Spanish conservatives can get real possessive when it gets to Catalonia, and things could get out of hand.

Now, I hope the author goes around the city again, and asks conservatives what actions they'd support to avoid Catalonia's independence. It would be a great follow-up, and bring lots of food for thought to the table.