It was 2011 when the SNP won the election. Alex
Salmond became the First Minister of Scotland and he committed to an
independence referendum.
In Spain, where a party manifesto can be ignored after
any election, the idea of Salmond doing what he had promised was not only a
surprise but a novelty.
In 2012, when it became crystal clear that Scotland
was to decide its future in an exemplary campaign, many Spanish politicians,
especially from the Popular Party, started to act like they always do:
interfering in external affairs.
The Catalan case was also growing and some thought
that it would be a very bad idea to allow a referendum of independence in
Scotland. So, I remember well the first article in El Confidencial
suggesting that there had been talks between civil servants and diplomatic
sources about trying to stop that referendum and the sharing of their concerns
with the UK Government.
Very soon the game of whether a Spanish veto would be likely
or unlikely was adopted by the British Media and it got worse when the
referendum was about to take place. We all remember that malicious intervention
by Mr. Barroso on the Marr Show or the so badly translated interview of Mr.
Rajoy in El País, playing with words without clarifying whether Spain
would veto Scotland´s EU membership or not. It was all nonsense but it served
to convince enough people to stop Scotland winning its independent status.
I don´t remember though any mention of the BBC or the
MSM asking questions or getting clear official answers about this issue. I
don´t remember any British journalist speaking directly with the Spanish
Minister and asking him what the official position was.
If those journalists had done their job and had
watched the sessions in the Spanish Congress, they could have clarified what
the real answer was. But instead they played the card of confusion because they
knew the issue of EU membership was an essential one.
Mr. González Pons has been the famous face of the
Spanish Veto Myth. Ruth Davidson was never asked about her secret meetings with
the Popular Party and their joint international campaign against independence.
Ruth Davidson didn´t just participate in these
meetings but positively encouraged external interference in a very democratic
process.
Now we see the polemic of the Spanish Consul. He
didn´t say anything offensive or false. He was doing what a representative of
the Spanish State must do: clarify the official position already shared by not
one but three different Foreign Ministers (Mr. Margallo, Mr. Dastis and the
latest, Mr. Borrell).
The Spanish Consul, Mr. Vecino said to the Spanish
newspaper El Mundo:
“Contrary to what has been reported I have never made
any political management without the knowledge of the Minister and the Embassy
whom I have kept punctually informed and in detail such that there has never
been the least reproach or criticism from either of them”
And he continued: “On the contrary, collaboration on
political issues has always been excellent with both, as proven by the numerous
e-mails exchanged”
When the reaction to something written by the Spanish
Consul is followed by an article about the problems of the Consulate and his destitution,
something clearly stinks.
We didn´t have to wait very long to know what had happened.
The Spanish newspaper Vox Populi explained that
it was a phone call and a complaint from the Foreign Office that had caused the
immediate cessation of the Consul.
It was the Herald Scotland where this entire nasty
episode all started. The Herald Scotland was incapable of rectifying an article
published with the last comment from González Pons; in fact, the Herald was
incapable of showing how politically insignificant the Spanish MEP is. He is
not in government. González Pons is no one.
The Herald, once again, published this non-news not
for the importance of what González Pons was saying but to damage the now super
strong case of the Scottish Government in Europe. What poor journalism and
toxic propaganda against the interests of the people of Scotland. Shame on
them!
Everyone knows in Spain that the Scottish people were
lied to about the Spanish Veto. Everyone knows that Europe looks with sweetness
towards the Scottish case.
The only politician who has shown seriousness and
respect and has been coherent is the First Minister of Scotland. She is very
well considered all over the World and I have no doubt she will be seen as a
true leader in further negotiations with the EU.
Could Spain try to veto Scotland? No way! In a no-deal
Brexit scenario Scotland will be very welcome in the EU. And remember, Brussels
will be able to openly support an independent Scotland once the UK is out of
the EU.
I´ve said this several times but Spain really owes the
people of Scotland a sincere and formal apology. The damage caused by the
Popular Party members is obvious and well known. They don´t understand
democracy, they don´t respect the rules.
González Pons and others have been changing their
position (sometimes yes, sometimes no) and their statements depending on their
own party interests and they have had the support of many journalists incapable
of doing their job of checking the information. It looks like they are acting as
a platform for certain organizations. We have seen something very similar with
Ruth Davidson in Scotland.
If they think they can “Catalanize” the Scottish case,
they should think again.
First of all because the Spanish conservative politicians
have achieved the highest levels of corruption and deterioration and they have
been trying to hide this by creating an enormous problem with the Catalan
process.
Secondly, we all know Spain has a written Constitution
that has made it impossible to present any alternatives as realistic. It was
the overall majority government of the Popular Party that didn´t respect either
the Catalan Statute or the Spanish Constitution and all their strategy has
caused their electoral debacle and the improvement of the pro-independence
Catalan parties. We have a saying in Galicia: “Se non queres caldo, sete tazas”
(“If you don´t want broth, well then - seven bowls full”)
And finally, we are now waiting for the sentence of
the Supreme Court for the Catalan leaders, the political prisoners. The shadow
of no confidence in the Spanish judiciary is very long. I can´t see Scots Law
and the Judges in Scotland playing that card; that would be, indeed, the end of
the Union.
Meanwhile as I’m writing this article, I see Boris
Johnson could become the new Tory Prime Minister making the no-deal Brexit
scenario more likely. Dear Scotland, run, run as fast as you can. Your friends
in Europe will be supporting you as always. Go for it and start a new chapter
of your admirable history. Grasp the thistle, Scotland. Now is the time!
Veño de falar con José Pérez de Vallejo, Presidente da sociedade de Rugby de Compostela (SRC - Santiago Rugby Club) 
