It would have been easier for all concerned if Spain had adopted federalism in 1978. That would have set clear rules and aligned responsibilities for taxing and spending. The Senate could have become a place where the regions were formally represented and could settle their differences, akin to Germany’s Bundesrat. In the end this may be what must happen.
In the meantime Spain must muddle on.
Muddling through is good. Its how most intractable problems get solved. It may take a few generations, but in the life of a country, there is no hurry.
That might happen in an Anglosaxon country, but it is unlikely in Spain.
The Basque and Catalonian Nationalists, that is, the political branches of the Basque and Catalonian oligarchies, do not want anything alike. They live from permanent conflict, they get their best economic deals from the National government in Madrid when they can carry out which is plainly blackmail.
Moreover, such political intolerance and radicalism has conceded the Socialist party a lot of votes: 25 seats from Catalonia out of 172, in a chamber of 350. In the end, there is no reason to reach an agreement among all regions.
This situation gets more complicated with the fact that the French establishment (and the ruling classes of Britain and Italy) wants conflict in Spain in order to keep us away of holding strong stances in the EU (or the world), as Aznar did. This article has been published in The Economist just when some economic interests of the Socialist from Madrid have been hurt by the now ruling
Socialists from Catalonia: it is a dispute in the same family.
Add to this that if
the truth about 3/11 is made public, the present political system in Spain would collapse...
As I see it, I hope and I pray for your outcome, but I find it hard to happen.