A double edged sword called 'democracy'.

The Catalonia parliament voted for independence from Spain yesterday, by 70 votes to 10, with the opponents of independence boycotting the session. Following that, the Spanish senate in Madrid voted to revoke Catalonia's autonomy, sacked the regional government and imposed direct rule by the central government. A referendum was held on 1 October which was declared illegal by the Constitutional Court in Spain. The Spanish government sent the national police, who fired rubber bullets and beat up people wanting to vote, to stop the referendum. Only 42% of people could vote, of whom over 90% voted 'yes' for independence. The Spanish government is taking a hard line, claiming that the videos of police brutality are fake and that the government had a right to try to stop the illegal referendum from taking place. Spain has 17 regions which have their own elected bodies with administrative powers, while foreign policy, defense and fiscal policy are in the hands of the central government, which has the power to override a regional government. This creates resentment. A lot of it has to do with money. Catalans claim that they pay high taxes but get back less in return than Extremadura, which pays less taxes but gets more money from Madrid in return, and the Basque region gets to keep all its taxes. Transfer of wealth from a rich area to a poorer one is practiced in every country but it is the feeling of unfairness that is driving Catalan resentment. The anger grew because of austerity imposed by the European Union following the economic crisis of 2008. Unemployment jumped to 25% in Spain. Taxes were increased which infuriated Catalans who compared their rates with other regions of Spain. Following Catalonia, Veneto and Lombardi in Italy have overwhelmingly voted for more independence from the government in Rome. Other regions are also thinking of asking for more powers to regulate their own affairs. Europe's problems are due to poor decision making, trying to arrive at a consensus between 28 member nations, wrote P Taylor. Monetary union without fiscal union, getting rid of internal borders before strengthening its external boundaries and the withdrawal of the US under Donald Trump. A senior official of the EU warned of more cracks in the union. Paradoxically, being in the EU may provide more reassurance for separatists who feel that since they are part of a super-state they do not need to be part of a nation state. Prof Y Varoufakis wrote that this is a great opportunity for the EU, which should enact clear rules for those who want to break away from their countries but remain a part of the EU. No politician wants to give up power over his own people. It is becoming a tussle between hunger for power in politicians and yearning for true independence in people. Democracy.