Mas’s Coalition Slips in Catalan Vote, but Leftist Separatists Gain; Referendum Now Likely.
The landmark elections to Catalonia’s regional parliament on November 25th left the separatist ruling coalition, Convergència i Unió (CiU, or Convergence and Union), with 12 fewer seats—now only 50 out of 135—meaning its leader, Artur Mas i Gavarró, will now have to join with other parties to push through his promised referendum on independence from Spain.
A likely partner is the leftist pro-independence party, Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (E.R.C., or Republican Left of Catalonia), which came in second with 21 seats, up from a previous 10.
That combination would give separatists a strong majority. Spain’s ruling People’s Party (P.P.) gained only one seat and now has 19.
[Also, for those who are wondering, yes, this blog is tied in with a forthcoming book, a sort of encyclopedic atlas to be published by Auslander and Fox under the title Let’s Split! A Complete Guide to Separatist Movements, Independence Struggles, Breakaway Republics, Rebel Provinces, Pseudostates, Puppet States, Tribal Fiefdoms, Micronations, and Do-It-Yourself Countries, from Chiapas to Chechnya and Tibet to Texas. Look for it in spring 2013. I will be keeping readers posted of further publication news.]
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