The time to recommence our advance
Jordi Pujol
Editorial / June 03, 2008
Many things have not gone at all well in Catalonia in recent years.
Some as a result of external causes, others owing to our own mistakes. It is fair to say so. But it is also fair to point out that many people in Catalonia have realised this, and have conducted some self-analysis as a result. In diverse fields and at all levels: intellectual, economic initiative, political, and moral (that is, values), etc. And in this bulletin we have been especially insistent on it. We said, for example, that because lately we Catalans have neither liked ourselves, nor have we been liked, we had to do some soul-searching and self-criticism.
This we have done, and this we will continue doing. With composure and without despising all our positive aspects.
But first let us complete that chain of sentences “we have neither liked ourselves, nor have we been liked”, with an all too true addition such as “and we have not liked them” (clearly understanding that “they” refers to the rest of Spain). And we can even one more “and nor should they like themselves”. That is, were they also to do some soul-searching, they would not like themselves. Because they have not done things appropriately. And they lack greatness. Moral greatness, which is something a country like Spain should have, for her aspirations, her historic greatness and her influence in all senses. But for the moment, they will not do this, as they live in a cloud. In a cloud of pure self-complacency in one half of Spain and in a cloud of a combination of collective sufficiency and sectorial frustration in the other. But eventually they all come together in the cloud of sudden and unexpected success, without thinking that clouds, sooner or later, break up and disperse. Until this happens, we will have to stomach many displays of hostility and rejection, a great deal of petulance and the hypocritical use of the word solidarity.
This bulletin does not seek to take sides on specific decisions of a strictly political nature, that are immediately difficult to gauge whether they are advantageous or merely fair. But it is role – in the field of values and, above all, attitudes – to say what we believe we must do now.
Not without first recalling – in a new exercise in self-criticism - that also the Catalans have sometimes made the silly mistake of appearing smug.
The fact is that once again we have to get moving. We have spent long enough dwelling on our errors and – though we cannot forget them – we now have to be conscious of what we as a country have to gain a new and powerful impetus.
_________________
On 12 November 1982, under a huge marquee in Plaça Catalunya, the President of the Catalan Generalitat opened an exhibition with the slogan “Forward Catalonia”.
He began his speech by saying “this is a time of crisis... that could mean for Catalonia the interruption and the inflexion point of 250 years of (economic) progress... that could bode a major crisis of identity that could destroy a secular history and our reality as a people”. The president went on to explain that he had decided to organise a comprehensive exhibition “on our moral, intellectual and material resources”. “An exhibition that is”, he added, “a reaction against sadness, against the idea of attrition, against the philosophy of defeat”.
Catalonia was in a tricky situation in November 1982: the LOAPA law had been passed; an attempted military coup of February 23 had failed; the LOFCA had been negatively applied, leaving the Generalitat in a dire financial situation; an extremely hostile and powerful Government in Madrid had taken office (it had just obtained a landslide victory); and we were immersed in the gravest economic and social crisis we have known, before and after the sixties. With unemployment at 21%, and a major crisis in the financial and banking sector. On that day, there were even disastrous floods and many deaths over a large part of the country. In such circumstances, that Exhibition, whose message was spread in a systematic and credible manner across the country, became a call for confidence and resolve.
_______________
Now we are yet again experiencing a difficult and compromising moment. But different. This time we have a more robust economy. The entire country is at a higher level. But the circumstances pose very serious risks and challenges. Challenges such as globalisation and the new technologies, which could have more positive than negative effects, yet failure to cope with the challenges could leave us behind. This is likewise true of immigration, which is the solution for some things (certain aspects of the economy, for example), but is problematic for others (our social cohesion and our identity as a people). We can also talk about the negative developments in the political arena and the prevailing mood in Spain with respect to Catalonia. And to this we must add the deep sense of confusion, uncertainty and disenchantment in Catalan society, aggravated by a Catalan political situation rife with incoherencies and little encouragement. And the latter – the state of the collective mood – urgently needs changing for the better. Surely it does not call for a re-run of the 1982 exhibition. Neither does it call for advertising slogans such as “Optimistic Catalonia”. And we clearly do not need to present pathetic displays like that the episode of the drought and the water shortage. This can be done, however, by recalling everything that Catalonia has been able to achieve in recent decades. It does not need an exhibition, but it would be good to see with realism rather than false optimism, the positive, innovating and creative things we have done in recent years.
For instance, do we pay enough attention to the leap forward that Catalonia has made over the last 15 years in the field of university education and research? Do we take note of how Catalonia has been able to remain an industrial society, with a high percentage, despite the crisis, of companies that export and that invest all around the globe? We are, by a long shot, the Spanish economy with the highest exports. And most of what we export is cutting-edge technology. This means we are competitive. Do we pay enough attention to what a capital city like Barcelona represents? Do we pay heed to what it means for Catalonia to have been invited to the Frankfurt Book Fair among countries of such a demographic, cultural and political standing as India and Turkey? That the Catalan language and culture was the only stateless guest? Do we gauge the density and the dynamism of our associationism? Do we value how so many sociologists across Europe claim that Catalonia is one of the countries where the ascenseur social functions best? Do we pay attention to the fact that the new generation, between the ages of 25 and 40 years, is producing people, many people, with plenty of initiative and drive?
In short. The wave of self-criticism and confusion that has taken place are welcome. We have conducted our self-criticism, we have come down from the cloud, and this is precisely one of our country’s assets. Because it will be more difficult to fall once more into smugness and flippancy, and easier to recover our sense of self-reliance and responsibility, and the awareness of our limits, and especially our possibilities. In the field of politics the battle for the Statute, for the financing, for respect towards Catalonia, will go on. And let us pray to God it will work out well. Because in the end collective victories need a political translation.
At the same time, everyone together, politicians and others, look towards our assets. Those we have mentioned and countless others. And let us move the country forward. It is a good moment to do it. Because we have a better sense of reality, because the time has passed for false hopes, because we know who and what we can rely on, because our most solid assets have stood the test of time, because we are more aware of our weaknesses and because we are rediscovering our most positive values.
This bulletin does not seek to take sides on specific decisions of a strictly political nature, that are immediately difficult to gauge whether they are advantageous or merely fair. But it is role – in the field of values and, above all, attitudes – to say what we believe we must do now.
Not without first recalling – in a new exercise in self-criticism - that also the Catalans have sometimes made the silly mistake of appearing smug.
The fact is that once again we have to get moving. We have spent long enough dwelling on our errors and – though we cannot forget them – we now have to be conscious of what we as a country have to gain a new and powerful impetus.
_________________
On 12 November 1982, under a huge marquee in Plaça Catalunya, the President of the Catalan Generalitat opened an exhibition with the slogan “Forward Catalonia”.
He began his speech by saying “this is a time of crisis... that could mean for Catalonia the interruption and the inflexion point of 250 years of (economic) progress... that could bode a major crisis of identity that could destroy a secular history and our reality as a people”. The president went on to explain that he had decided to organise a comprehensive exhibition “on our moral, intellectual and material resources”. “An exhibition that is”, he added, “a reaction against sadness, against the idea of attrition, against the philosophy of defeat”.
Catalonia was in a tricky situation in November 1982: the LOAPA law had been passed; an attempted military coup of February 23 had failed; the LOFCA had been negatively applied, leaving the Generalitat in a dire financial situation; an extremely hostile and powerful Government in Madrid had taken office (it had just obtained a landslide victory); and we were immersed in the gravest economic and social crisis we have known, before and after the sixties. With unemployment at 21%, and a major crisis in the financial and banking sector. On that day, there were even disastrous floods and many deaths over a large part of the country. In such circumstances, that Exhibition, whose message was spread in a systematic and credible manner across the country, became a call for confidence and resolve.
_______________
Now we are yet again experiencing a difficult and compromising moment. But different. This time we have a more robust economy. The entire country is at a higher level. But the circumstances pose very serious risks and challenges. Challenges such as globalisation and the new technologies, which could have more positive than negative effects, yet failure to cope with the challenges could leave us behind. This is likewise true of immigration, which is the solution for some things (certain aspects of the economy, for example), but is problematic for others (our social cohesion and our identity as a people). We can also talk about the negative developments in the political arena and the prevailing mood in Spain with respect to Catalonia. And to this we must add the deep sense of confusion, uncertainty and disenchantment in Catalan society, aggravated by a Catalan political situation rife with incoherencies and little encouragement. And the latter – the state of the collective mood – urgently needs changing for the better. Surely it does not call for a re-run of the 1982 exhibition. Neither does it call for advertising slogans such as “Optimistic Catalonia”. And we clearly do not need to present pathetic displays like that the episode of the drought and the water shortage. This can be done, however, by recalling everything that Catalonia has been able to achieve in recent decades. It does not need an exhibition, but it would be good to see with realism rather than false optimism, the positive, innovating and creative things we have done in recent years.
For instance, do we pay enough attention to the leap forward that Catalonia has made over the last 15 years in the field of university education and research? Do we take note of how Catalonia has been able to remain an industrial society, with a high percentage, despite the crisis, of companies that export and that invest all around the globe? We are, by a long shot, the Spanish economy with the highest exports. And most of what we export is cutting-edge technology. This means we are competitive. Do we pay enough attention to what a capital city like Barcelona represents? Do we pay heed to what it means for Catalonia to have been invited to the Frankfurt Book Fair among countries of such a demographic, cultural and political standing as India and Turkey? That the Catalan language and culture was the only stateless guest? Do we gauge the density and the dynamism of our associationism? Do we value how so many sociologists across Europe claim that Catalonia is one of the countries where the ascenseur social functions best? Do we pay attention to the fact that the new generation, between the ages of 25 and 40 years, is producing people, many people, with plenty of initiative and drive?
In short. The wave of self-criticism and confusion that has taken place are welcome. We have conducted our self-criticism, we have come down from the cloud, and this is precisely one of our country’s assets. Because it will be more difficult to fall once more into smugness and flippancy, and easier to recover our sense of self-reliance and responsibility, and the awareness of our limits, and especially our possibilities. In the field of politics the battle for the Statute, for the financing, for respect towards Catalonia, will go on. And let us pray to God it will work out well. Because in the end collective victories need a political translation.
At the same time, everyone together, politicians and others, look towards our assets. Those we have mentioned and countless others. And let us move the country forward. It is a good moment to do it. Because we have a better sense of reality, because the time has passed for false hopes, because we know who and what we can rely on, because our most solid assets have stood the test of time, because we are more aware of our weaknesses and because we are rediscovering our most positive values.
