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FM AMEMBASSY MADRID
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5208
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHLA/AMCONSUL BARCELONA 3536

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MADRID 000865 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV SP
SUBJECT: SPAIN: REGIONAL TENSIONS SIMMER THROUGH THE 
SUMMER, BUT UNLIKELY TO BOIL OVER 
 
REF: MADRID 828 
 
MADRID 00000865  001.3 OF 003 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The central government's relationship with 
Spain's regions--particularly the so-called "historic 
nationalities" of the Basque country (el Pais Vasco), 
Catalonia, and to a lesser extent Galicia--continues to be a 
topic of significant public discussion.  Two key events have 
largely driven the debate this summer: the Basque 
parliament's approval of an initiative aimed at redefining 
the region's relationship with Madrid, and the publication of 
a "Manifesto for a Common Language" that calls for protecting 
the rights of Spanish speakers in regions with co-official 
languages, such as Pais Vasco or Catalonia.  These are far 
from the only new developments, however; in July, two Catalan 
political parties (the Catalan Socialists, which currently 
lead a tripartite regional government, and the largest 
component of the Convergencia i Unio (CiU) coalition) voted 
at their party congresses to stake out stronger regionalist 
positions, and publication of the regions' fiscal balances 
sparked controversy as the GOS worked to renegotiate the 
regional financing system (reftel).  The latest events will 
continue to demand significant GOS time and energy, drawing 
attention away from other pressing issues such as Spain's 
worsening economy. END SUMMARY 
 
//BASQUE REFERENDUM HALTED FOR NOW// 
 
¶2. (U) Spain's Constitutional Tribunal (TC) is currently 
considering the legality of a Basque proposal, approved by 
the regional parliament in late June, to move forward with 
the referendum portion of the so-called Ibarretxe Plan.  This 
initiative, named after regional government head Juan Jose 
Ibarretxe (U.S. governor equivalent), asserts the right of 
the Basque people to self-determination and seeks to open up 
a national debate on the political status of the Basque 
region.  The plan calls for a referendum to be held on 
October 25, 2008 that, if approved, would a) support peace 
negotiations to end ETA violence if the terrorist group 
demonstrates its willingness to definitively cease its 
terrorist activity, and b) send a mandate to all Basque 
political parties to begin a process of negotiation with the 
central Spanish government with the aim of reaching agreement 
on the Basque people's right to self-determination, to be put 
to a referendum before 2011.  The TC,s decision to accept 
the government's appeal against the October referendum 
proposal however, effectively means it would not be held 
until at least December 15, 2008--if at all. 
 
¶3. (SBU) PNV officials stress, both publicly and privately to 
us, that they will adhere to the TC,s ruling and have no 
intention of pursuing "illegal" measures to gain 
self-determination--even though some PNV members also tell us 
they consider it ridiculous that their nonbinding referendum 
could be ruled unconstitutional.  Ibarretxe, however, has 
promised to use all legal means at his disposal to fight for 
the "Basque cause."  Moreover, some members of his governing 
coalition, as well as the radical communist-separatist PCTV 
party that cast the deciding vote in favor of the referendum, 
have called for a more aggressive resistance. 
 
//POLITICS OF LANGUAGE// 
 
¶4. (SBU) Language policy has become this summer's rallying 
cry against Spain's regional nationalists, at least in the 
media.  As of late July, more than 130,000 Spaniards had 
signed the so-called "Manifesto for a Common Language" 
launched in June by philosopher and writer Fernando Savater 
(a founder of the new Union, Progress, and Democracy party 
that won a congressional seat in its first election in 2008), 
and supported by around 20 other Spanish intellectuals.  The 
manifesto, also signed by a number of leading opposition 
Partido Popular (PP) politicians as well as some 
semi-prominent Socialist supporters, is a reaction to Basque 
and especially Catalan efforts to prioritize the use of their 
co-official languages in education and public services, which 
manifesto promoters assert discriminates against 
Spanish-speakers in those regions.  Prominent daily El Mundo, 
always willing to take up sensationalistic causes against GOS 
policies, has trumpeted the latest tally of prominent 
signatories almost daily on its front page and continues to 
push the Manifesto. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Basque and Catalan natives, as well as some 
non-natives of the regions, seem to largely regard the 
Manifesto as a political attack against their languages and 
national identity, arguing that Catalan or Euskera (the 
Basque language) face a far greater threat and that their 
regions allow both co-official language speakers and Spanish 
speakers to live and work there with ease.  The Manifesto's 
complaints are hardly without merit, however, which is 
 
MADRID 00000865  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
probably why it has attracted some prominent signatories such 
as major tourism sector company Grupo Marsans (which owns 
low-cost carrier Spanair as well as hotel and car rental 
chains), the five national police unions, and national soccer 
team goalkeeper Iker Casillas, a Spanish hero following his 
stellar performance during Spain's European soccer 
championship in June.  Education is the main issue for many 
Spaniards. The Pais Vasco has decreed that Euskera should be 
the principal language of teaching, while in Catalonia public 
schools are taught in Catalan with only a maximum of three 
hours of Spanish instruction per week.  Even in Galicia more 
than 700 citizens have made formal complaints to the Galicia 
Bilingual Association during the past year, alleging various 
forms of discrimination against Spanish speakers--such as 
lower grades for school work done in Spanish or a refusal to 
provide Spanish versions of tax documents and graduation 
certificates for use in other regions. 
 
//POLITICIANS FRAMING REGIONAL DEBATE// 
 
¶6. (SBU) Regional-nationalist efforts frequently seem to be 
more inspired by politically motivated party and regional 
leaders than by popular demand.  Basque President Ibarretxe 
is pushing his plan, according to some Spanish press sources, 
despite widespread apathy and even opposition within the PNV. 
 For instance, a senior member of the PNV executive in late 
July expressed doubts about the timing of the plan to a 
visiting poloff.  Basque society may be even more divided. 
The well-regarded Euskobarometro in May found solid blocks of 
support for independence (25 %), federalism (35%), and the 
current autonomy system (33%), and only 24% at that time 
wanted Ibarretxe to maintain his position.  The poll also 
found that only 16% considered political issues to be a major 
concern--many more cited unemployment (53%), violence (38%), 
or housing (41%) as one of their top three worries. 
Euskobarometro, however, also noted that Ibarretxe received a 
7.5 approval rating from his own electorate, the highest of 
any Basque politician, and a 5.1 rating among all Basques, 
the second highest number. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Catalonia saw two of its main parties move toward 
more nationalist ground during party congresses in July, 
although neither has argued for outright independence. 
Convergencia Democratica, the larger of the two parties in 
CiU (and whose leader, Artur Mas, also leads the coalition), 
approved a party objective of making Catalonia a free and 
sovereign nation in the Europe of the 21st century and 
calling for the right to self-determination--an objective 
demanded by the more radical sector of the party, according 
to media reports.  The Catalan Socialist Party (PSC), which 
is in federation with, rather than merely a branch of, the 
PSOE, at its congress seemed to move into ground usually 
occupied more by nationalist parties like CiU or the 
independence-minded ERC.  The PSC called for constitutional 
reforms to include the "federalist" character of the Spanish 
state, reiterated the concept of Catalonia as "a nation with 
its own territory, language, culture, and history, which make 
a national community," and demanded a voice for the party in 
Europe. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Regional politicians are not the only ones to blame, 
however.  Spain's two main parties, the ruling PSOE and 
opposition PP, have been all but unable to hold civil 
discussion in recent years on regional issues dealing with 
Basques and Catalans.  Our Catalan and Basque contacts 
generally accuse the PP as having taken too strident a tone 
against the regional nationalists and, particularly during 
the second Aznar government (2000-04), contributing to an "us 
versus them" mentality.  President Zapatero on the other hand 
tried too hard to make nice with the regions--partly in hopes 
of capturing more votes for the Socialists there--but, in 
giving a few inches, saw the nationalists try to take several 
miles. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Some observers see hope for improvements over the 
coming years.  Francisco Llera, Director of the 
Euskobarometro program, told us he sees both the PP and PSOE 
as having matured and learned from their mistakes of recent 
years and believes there may be more room for agreement on 
issues like the regional financing system, which the GOS is 
currently renegotiating.  Llera notes for example that 
recently published figures show that the Community of Madrid, 
Balearic Islands, Catalonia, and Valencia each put more money 
into state coffers than they receive back.  With two regions 
led by the PP (Madrid and Valencia)  and two led by the PSOE 
(Balearics and Catalonia), there is a great incentive for the 
two parties to reach agreement. 
 
//COMMENT// 
 
 
MADRID 00000865  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶10. (SBU) Most of this summer's events seem to represent 
politics as usual in Spain.  Spain's victory in the European 
soccer championships offered a small, but telling, insight 
into the way in which the center-regions debate can intrude 
on almost any arena.  Spain's success--with  a team 
comprising players from across the country and including 
tournament MVP Xavi Hernandez of Barcelona--prompted 
indifference or even disdain from some Catalan politicians. 
A spokesperson from the leftist nationalist ERC said before 
the championship that some party leaders "hope Germany 
defeats Spain in the championship match."  Many press sources 
hailed the unifying nature of the team, describing a new 
enthusiasm in places like Barcelona for the national squad's 
success and noted public support for the team by PNV 
officials. 
 
¶11. (SBU) Although we continue to watch for signs that Spain 
is fracturing, this seems unlikely in the near to medium term 
(a sentiment shared by those politicians and observers with 
whom we have met in recent weeks.  While Euskobarometro 
Director Llera may be correct about the prospects for a 
better climate for debate, we believe that in general Spain 
will continue muddling through on this issue, with the 
Basques and Catalans pushing for more decentralized powers 
and recognition of their historic status (and other regions 
balking at anything that might reward these regions at their 
expense), Zapatero trying to make nice with the Pais Vasco 
and Catalonia while fending off their biggest demands, and 
the PP resistant to most nationalist demands.  Nonetheless, 
center-regional tensions will continue to occupy a 
significant portion of Spain's political energy, distracting 
the GOS from more important issues like Spain's precarious 
economy and making its recognition of Kosovo in the near term 
unlikely. 
Aguirre