Carles Puigdemont
@KRLS · Europe
Carles Puigdemont is followed by The State of Israel for government and public service coverage connected to Spain in the Europe chapter.
A hundred years ago, Josep Pla described the impression the Germans made on him while he was walking near Düsseldorf on a Sunday evening. He does so in the final paragraph of the chapter “Cologne Country” in the collection of travel chronicles brought together under the title “Letters from Afar”: “It is growing dark. The tram runs alongside a canal. Spraying the water, disappearing from sight, a line of electric arcs. Barges loaded with coal, on the canal. In the light, the coal makes something like needle points that gleam like diamonds. In many houses they play the mandolin. The cafés are packed to overflowing. Music. Military marches. The women eat delicatessen foods with faces full of red spots, flushed, sweating. The men wear dinner jackets and have shaved heads. In these cafés and at this Sunday hour one clearly sees the fear the Germans inspire, the instinctive, terrible fear the Germans inspire. You tremble like a leaf on a tree; you have the same feeling that encountering a hippopotamus at large must cause.” Although defeated, humiliated and indebted, that Germany was terribly frightening; seen in perspective, the shudder Pla described was a premonition of what was to come. Last Sunday, also at the same twilight hour, a group of German neo-Nazis reminded us of that fear, that shudder. This time, however, it will be the Germans themselves who will not let them through, much to the dismay of some of their enthusiastic friends who proudly bellow, “we have already passed.” And I have the deep conviction that the hope Pla could not find will come to us from Germany itself and from the Germans.
Translated from CatalanI have no interest in promoting RN as the friendly face of Europe’s far right, but since they know something about their world, it is worth knowing what they think of the AfD. Read the interview with one of the leading spokespeople of the French party, Jean-Philippe Tanguy, and see what he says about the German party: “I left the office of the AfD representative at the time terrified. (…) We decided to break with the AfD quickly, as it was making increasingly questionable statements, especially in relation to the Second World War; also on certain political issues, particularly remigration, which included people of immigrant origin who were already integrated”. “They have voted for people who relativize Germany’s Nazi past, who explain that it was possible to be in the SS without being a bad person—it is outrageous”. And then analyze the biographies of some of their elected officials in Sunday’s elections. They make your hair stand on end. Tolerance or equidistance toward these people is a mistake; complicity is a mistake and a grave irresponsibility. I am not surprised that some are bothered by the anti-fascist iconography of Catalan poster art, which, moreover, helped us gain international recognition and be recognized as a democratic cause against totalitarianism. They feel oppressed by the Catalan espadrille crushing the swastika. Figures such as Joan Pujol, Francesc Boix, and Francesc Dalmau helped defeat and condemn Nazism. Some, decisively. Their memory, and above all that of the victims of Nazism, deserves respect.
Translated from CatalanThe situation is alarming; it is proof of the irresponsibility of those who want us normalized and resigned to Spanish dependence and to a system that does not seek to educate critical citizens, but rather, the more addicted to consumption and social media, the better: it remains to be demonstrated that the “economic miracle” the Spanish Government boasts about before the EU is perfectly compatible with the educational catastrophe. That is why independence is a necessity, including for Catalans who oppose it. True, there is no button that, when pressed, fixes all this at once. That is a lie. There are no simple and quick formulas that can repair the damage inflicted on us by Spanish neglect, the chronic theft of our resources, and the lack of sovereignty to decide. These are processes that require constant effort to overcome colossal and permanent adversities, with ups and downs, successes and mistakes. But with an unwavering commitment to a better country, where culture, education, and language serve as cement that ensures social cohesion and progress, the integration of newcomers, and the strengthening of fundamental rights. That is what the independence process is about. And that is what it will be about. Because no matter how determined they are to turn the page, no matter how much effort and resources they devote every day, every month, and every year, for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, by land, sea, and TV3… the page stubbornly refuses to be turned. There you have it.
Translated from CatalanAn analysis based on the Polish experience, very interesting to read. The phrase “after the elections, TikTok ends and Excel begins” sums up the challenge that the AfD will have to face if it ultimately forms a government in Saxony-Anhalt. But there is much more, and it is quite complex.
Translated from CatalanThe neo-Nazi wave in the Spanish police should concern everyone who today expresses fear about the rise of German neo-Nazis. The structural repression to which every Catalan is subjected simply for being Catalan—sometimes in such a savage manner as in this case, sometimes in a subtler manner, as in the failure to carry out investments—is an exercise in xenophobia incompatible with the rule of law. They don't give a damn, but we do. My full support for @CEEuropa and for the fan who has been the victim of another abuse by the Spanish authorities.
Translated from CatalanThe indisputable victory of the AfD in Saxony-Anhalt is the result of a long chain of irresponsibility in which everyone bears part of the blame. The news seems like a tragedy to me. Its objective is to replace democracy with a post-democratic model with less deliberation, more authoritarianism and more social violence; one that appears much more effective at managing problems without having to worry about minorities, dissidents, fundamental rights and other “obstacles” that hold back progress. The Chinese model. The Trump model. Putin’s model. But also the model of those democratic governments that in recent years have toughened their national-security legislation to permit authoritarian practices contrary to the rule of law; that have neglected democratic values and placed them hierarchically below the interests of the business they do precisely with countries governed by autocrats and criminals. What has happened in Saxony-Anhalt is a very serious warning. I do not say this because of the parties and administrations that have just suffered a profound shock (that is the circumstantial part, anecdotal if you like): I say it because of the very idea of democracy, which, after providing decades of peace and prosperity to millions of Europeans, is the object of a calculated strategy to overthrow it, precisely now that it is showing symptoms of fatigue and needs regeneration based on its principles and founding roots. Because the winner in Saxony-Anhalt is a party whose ethics —if it has any— it openly questions. I do not feel sorry for the CDU, which has shown that democratic principles have been a great nuisance to it and has preferred to act as a lackey of the Spanish post-Francoism of the PP rather than listen to the appeal of millions of European democrats from Catalonia. I feel sorry for Germany, a country I love and admire, and for Europe, a project that is always worth fighting for, in good times and bad.
Translated from CatalanWhat do European households spend their money on? The latest data point to some changes in trends related to the social and economic changes affecting consumption. Here is a statistical summary
Translated from CatalanTo learn more about the roots of the conflict between the Spanish state and the Kingdom of Morocco, this article provides highly valuable historical context. Don’t miss it. Nor the final recommendation. Morocco’s revived claim to Ceuta and Melilla is not a demand for decolonisation
Translated from CatalanLeaving aside the reasons for his detention (it seems that his visa has expired and that is why he will be deported to the United Kingdom) and the arbitrariness that ICE has already demonstrated, Milo is not just anyone. He is one of the most pernicious engineers of chaos that the internet world has produced, who have made lying and manipulation the information standard that now feeds a large part of the population and also a certain political class, which confuses "speaking plainly" with shouting, and "telling the truth that everyone hides" with conspiracy theories and falsehood. One of the elements that have contributed to the success of Trumpism. Yiannopoulos's style has spread throughout the world, with a frightening impunity, because it produces economic and electoral results. MIT studies indicate that false information is 70% more likely to be shared online, because it is more original than true information. According to these researchers, the truth needs six times as much time to be accepted as fake news. Giuliano da Empoli, who explains all this in his famous book, attributes a phrase to Mark Twain according to which "a lie can travel around the world before the truth has time to put on its shoes" (although it has not been proven that Twain was really its author, as often happens when famous sayings are quoted). Someone lacking any ethics now knows, then, what the path to success is in the world of communication or politics. In this sense, the rise of populism in Europe could not be understood without looking to the United States and the strategies launched, about fifteen years ago, by figures such as Bannon and Yiannopoulos. The combination of media created for the purpose and, above all, a legion of trolls (real or from troll farms) can succeed in creating the climate conducive to this rise. Another matter is what kind of world they will leave us for the following day, when the pendulum swings in another direction. But they care exactly zero about that, because the point is to lay waste to everything and everyone, just as Nero did when he set Rome ablaze in the hope that a new, clean, healthy city would rise from it (another fact that is also very likely to be false. Napoleon used to say that history is nothing more than a set of lies that we have agreed upon ... although perhaps he did not say that either).
Translated from CatalanRemember that for @PODEMOS, Spaniards can manage immigration powers but Catalans cannot, which is racist. That is why they always vote with PP and VOX whenever they have the opportunity to block us.
Translated from CatalanToday, @FCBarcelona_cat is honoring the symbol that represents the popular and intergenerational democratic struggle for Catalan independence. Thank you, @JoanLaportaFCB. Thanks to Barça and to all the people who came together to make it possible. By the way, twelve years ago now, in Girona we officially dedicated a public space to the creator of the estelada.
Translated from CatalanA very interesting tool has just been released that allows you to track trains in real time in several European countries. Unsurprisingly, the trains with the most delays are Renfe's, and the most affected stations are those of the Spanish state @traintracker24_
Translated from CatalanOsman Kavala must be released immediately. I hope that the EU and all member states, starting with the Spanish state as a friend of Erdogan’s authoritarian regime, exert the necessary pressure to enforce the ECHR judgment. @AmnestyEU @aforgutu
Translated from CatalanThey ooze hatred for Catalan identity, structurally. People from the highest echelons all the way to football players are part of this illness, along with judges and journalists. In a healthy society, this would be intolerable. In Spain, it is a merit.
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