I live in Galicia, N Spain,I regularly meet up with local friends for a glass of wine,there is no appetite here at all for any independence or separation ,they seem quite happy with things as they are.
Hola Stu, otro buen comentario por tu parte respecto al debate catalán. Love it or not, our democratic process is all about opinions and as you mentioned, there are those minorities with the loudest mouths and biggest opinions that will do everything to gain or hold on to power. The greater majority's duty is to keep those with the least - in check! keep up the good work and commentarios.
The EU would never let Catalunya into the Union. It would set a precedent for other independent movements. Its ridiculous so many places around think they should be independent. It makes no economic sense to be smaller and not bigger.
We live in Malaga and loved dancing in the rain in Galicia in August. Plus we dig the Galician vibes and food. I do hope northern Spain doesn’t become what we have down south. If you escape the tourist bits even in August beaches are amazing and chill
Not only will they have to change the Spanish Constitution with respect to referenda which should be national, the European Union and the entra por Catalonia as a member following the European Constitution but also the Catalans themselves. My personal opinion as a graduate in Political Science is that it is impossible. The Catalan independence movement never presented a White Paper and they always said/say that Europe will allow Catalonia will remain as a member. I think they should negotiate and really use common sense (seny) - a favourite expression to define Catalans
They will do it like Brexit. The style of politics to use fear and create an 'evil' ideology for the masses that do not fully understand the complexities of managing a country. It will be a disaster and yet again only for a very small fraction of the political class who want to benefit and get rich off the back of ignorance. That should be the real messaging from local politicians to Catalonians i.e. their situation will not improve.
Stu, "high night time temperatures"? Have you considered installing an aircon unit in your master bedroom? Not only does it reduce the temperature but it also lessens the humidity which is the real problem. I live in the Algarve, and I would not be without my aircon unit in the bedroom.
As an outsider but interested person; I guess I may not consider buying a house or apartment in Barcelona or other Catalan city because I do not want to wind up in a little country.
It’s fine giving some autonomous regions of Spain some controls and ability to make local decisions that affect their region. However, breaking away, or seeking independence in order to capitalise on resources within that region will not work in the long term as the other parts of the country will deteriorate and people will simply migrate to where the better region as everybody tries to capitalise on those resources.
If the Catalans and the Basques want independence from Spain, well they should want independence from France too. Have they forgotten about their French comrades?
I forget the phrase, what is it called when the matador trucks the bull with the cape? I say call their bluff, let them run their horns into thin air. Let their own referendum fall flat on its face, let them put it to rest themselves once and for all. (It's my understanding that the catalonian independence movement is in a super minority of only 30% or so). If they want the majority of catalonians to decide on independence, it's just not something that will ever happen. It would be masterful, if also time consuming political theater to just let them have it. Everyone wins, except for catalonian independence in the end haha.
Hi Stuart, Regarding tips my wife and I were in a cafe having a drink, and the two British blokes at the next table left a euro tip. A Spanish man with two children came and sat at the next table to have his drink and pocketed the tip. The moral of the story is to give your tip to the server.
Hola Stuart hace muy viento. There are a lot of Spanish lessons coming up on your vids not sure if you have put them on or if someone piggybacking your chanel. In Borneo at moment. Hasta luego amigo
Spain is not like Balkan countries at all. Feijóo, the conservative spanish leader is so histrionic saying so. It’s just because he is pissed off since he won’t be able to become a president. He wanted to defeat President Sánchez but he didn’t get enough votes.
It's not like the Balkans indeed, but balkanization is more related to the phenomenon of breaking up a country in to smaller states thanks to ethnic/political/religious differences, and often with the support of outside entities. So Spain could be balkanized due to these independence movements which could potentially lead to civil war. Also, didn't PP technically get more votes? My dad is Spanish (Galician) and told me that was the case, but simply getting more votes doesn't secure a win as coalition governments are often formed in order to govern.
Tricky conversation Stu, but well presented, the political scene hasn’t changed much, and a left socialist country, supported by a left EU will prevail. This is guaranteed by the unethical people who lead the nation. A gentle dictator who has the heart and soul of the country would be welcome? 🤔
You keep saying " but that is just my opinion" i imagine you were conservative in Australia you are certainly conservative in your interpretation of Spanish politics. The Balkan image is one of violence if there is a break up of the union in Spain. Would one use that expression in relation to England and the other states in the union.Unlikely. It seems straightforward if Scotland were entitled to a referendum when Britain was a member of the European Union then so is Catalonia . Also there is likely to be a referendum in Northern Ireland to join the rest of Ireland within the European Union. As all of Spain is in the EU it should be a democratic right to have a referendum within the European Union
It's rare for independence movement to not garner some level of violence. And if the mention of the Balkans came into the discussion, I think it's more to do with Balkanization. Which Spain could easily end up facing if these movements would aim at creating smaller nations, including Cataluña, Basque Country, Galicia, etc. If a unilateral referendum were permitted, it would create an issue as there are various countries and regions within the EU with similar situations (Italy, Belgium, etc) that would dissolve larger economies in the union. These new nations would not automatically qualify for EU membership given the numerous requirements, meaning they would likely not be in the interests of the union. Also, the situation with Northern Ireland isn't really an apples to apples comparison with the different autonomous regions in Spain, as far as I'm aware.
You say " they would be unlikely to get a job outside politics" how can you say that. What other job are you qualified. Donald Trump went to Harvard? How qualified is he ?
I live in Galicia, N Spain,I regularly meet up with local friends for a glass of wine,there is no appetite here at all for any independence or separation ,they seem quite happy with things as they are.
Are you Gallego?
Hola Stu, otro buen comentario por tu parte respecto al debate catalán.
Love it or not, our democratic process is all about opinions and as you mentioned, there are those minorities with the loudest mouths and biggest opinions that will do everything to gain or hold on to power. The greater majority's duty is to keep those with the least - in check! keep up the good work and commentarios.
The EU would never let Catalunya into the Union. It would set a precedent for other independent movements. Its ridiculous so many places around think they should be independent. It makes no economic sense to be smaller and not bigger.
We live in Malaga and loved dancing in the rain in Galicia in August. Plus we dig the Galician vibes and food. I do hope northern Spain doesn’t become what we have down south. If you escape the tourist bits even in August beaches are amazing and chill
We had a relatively mild and short summer in Portugal, compared to the previous two years.
Not only will they have to change the Spanish Constitution with respect to referenda which should be national, the European Union and the entra por Catalonia as a member following the European Constitution but also the Catalans themselves. My personal opinion as a graduate in Political Science is that it is impossible. The Catalan independence movement never presented a White Paper and they always said/say that Europe will allow Catalonia will remain as a member. I think they should negotiate and really use common sense (seny) - a favourite expression to define Catalans
They will do it like Brexit. The style of politics to use fear and create an 'evil' ideology for the masses that do not fully understand the complexities of managing a country. It will be a disaster and yet again only for a very small fraction of the political class who want to benefit and get rich off the back of ignorance. That should be the real messaging from local politicians to Catalonians i.e. their situation will not improve.
As we get older we get more sensitive to extreme heat & cold.
Stu, "high night time temperatures"? Have you considered installing an aircon unit in your master bedroom? Not only does it reduce the temperature but it also lessens the humidity which is the real problem. I live in the Algarve, and I would not be without my aircon unit in the bedroom.
As an outsider but interested person; I guess I may not consider buying a house or apartment in Barcelona or other Catalan city because I do not want to wind up in a little country.
It’s fine giving some autonomous regions of Spain some controls and ability to make local decisions that affect their region.
However, breaking away, or seeking independence in order to capitalise on resources within that region will not work in the long term as the other parts of the country will deteriorate and people will simply migrate to where the better region as everybody tries to capitalise on those resources.
Breaking away into smaller Countries just makes the whole Region less strong and less affluent.
Hi Stu! Long time without catching these! Greetings from London.
If the Catalans and the Basques want independence from Spain, well they should want independence from France too. Have they forgotten about their French comrades?
I forget the phrase, what is it called when the matador trucks the bull with the cape? I say call their bluff, let them run their horns into thin air. Let their own referendum fall flat on its face, let them put it to rest themselves once and for all. (It's my understanding that the catalonian independence movement is in a super minority of only 30% or so). If they want the majority of catalonians to decide on independence, it's just not something that will ever happen. It would be masterful, if also time consuming political theater to just let them have it. Everyone wins, except for catalonian independence in the end haha.
The break up of Spain would be catastrophic, it would weaken the nation terribly.
Great statistics, Stu...👍
Don`t think Spain can be compared with those Balkan states. People here from whatever region just don't hate each other enough for that to happen.
Most of Spain in nonreligious or only nominal non practicing Catholic. @@moltderenou
I think he's referring to balkanization more as a concept.
Hi Stuart, Regarding tips my wife and I were in a cafe having a drink, and the two British blokes at the next table left a euro tip. A Spanish man with two children came and sat at the next table to have his drink and pocketed the tip. The moral of the story is to give your tip to the server.
Hola Stuart hace muy viento. There are a lot of Spanish lessons coming up on your vids not sure if you have put them on or if someone piggybacking your chanel. In Borneo at moment. Hasta luego amigo
Thanks Stu!
Spanish Politics ey? You’ve gone such a long way since we studied it at school. Great work.
Ha ha, long time ago that was
Just let them go then watch them cry and want to come back when their new “nation” doesn’t have enough money to carry on…
Spain is not like Balkan countries at all. Feijóo, the conservative spanish leader is so histrionic saying so. It’s just because he is pissed off since he won’t be able to become a president. He wanted to defeat President Sánchez but he didn’t get enough votes.
It's not like the Balkans indeed, but balkanization is more related to the phenomenon of breaking up a country in to smaller states thanks to ethnic/political/religious differences, and often with the support of outside entities. So Spain could be balkanized due to these independence movements which could potentially lead to civil war.
Also, didn't PP technically get more votes? My dad is Spanish (Galician) and told me that was the case, but simply getting more votes doesn't secure a win as coalition governments are often formed in order to govern.
If the people are loosing interest in these ideals then let it go, the people have spoken with their disinterest.
Nice🎉🎉🎉
Tricky conversation Stu, but well presented, the political scene hasn’t changed much, and a left socialist country, supported by a left EU will prevail. This is guaranteed by the unethical people who lead the nation. A gentle dictator who has the heart and soul of the country would be welcome? 🤔
You keep saying " but that is just my opinion" i imagine you were conservative in Australia you are certainly conservative in your interpretation of Spanish politics.
The Balkan image is one of violence if there is a break up of the union in Spain.
Would one use that expression in relation to England and the other states in the union.Unlikely.
It seems straightforward if Scotland were entitled to a referendum when Britain was a member of the European Union then so is Catalonia .
Also there is likely to be a referendum in Northern Ireland to join the rest of Ireland within the European Union.
As all of Spain is in the EU it should be a democratic right to have a referendum within the European Union
It's rare for independence movement to not garner some level of violence. And if the mention of the Balkans came into the discussion, I think it's more to do with Balkanization. Which Spain could easily end up facing if these movements would aim at creating smaller nations, including Cataluña, Basque Country, Galicia, etc.
If a unilateral referendum were permitted, it would create an issue as there are various countries and regions within the EU with similar situations (Italy, Belgium, etc) that would dissolve larger economies in the union. These new nations would not automatically qualify for EU membership given the numerous requirements, meaning they would likely not be in the interests of the union.
Also, the situation with Northern Ireland isn't really an apples to apples comparison with the different autonomous regions in Spain, as far as I'm aware.
You say " they would be unlikely to get a job outside politics" how can you say that. What other job are you qualified.
Donald Trump went to Harvard?
How qualified is he ?
Just imagine visiting Madrid and Barcelona as capitals of two differents countries, a smaller Kingdom of Spain and the Republic of Catalonia. 🤔🤨 ...
sort of like Lisbon and Madrid, Portuguese Republic and Kingdom of Spain.