Talking shop: Spain and Cataloni

• Catalonia 加泰罗尼亚(西班牙东北部一地区)

A favourite slogan of the Catalan separatists, aimed at Spain’s government, has been “sit and talk”.
Today, Pedro Sánchez, the Socialist prime minister, will do just that.
In January he won parliamentary support for his minority left-wing coalition thanks to the abstention of Esquerra, the largest separatist party.
In return, he promised open-ended talks on the political conflict in Catalonia.
The Catalan delegation at the first meeting at the Moncloa Palace in Madrid includes representatives of Carles Puigdemont, the fugitive[逃亡的] former regional president, as well as Esquerra.
They do not command a popular majority and the government will reject their demand for a referendum【全民公投】 on independence.

• a referendum on + sth. 针对某事的全民公投

However, Mr Sánchez is prepared to talk about more powers and money for the region.
He wants Esquerra’s support for his budget; Esquerra wants negotiations to continue until a Catalan regional election, probably in the autumn.
If nothing else, the exercise may show whether the separatists really want to talk rather than dictate【命令】.

Feb 26th 2020

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背景

C想独立，S不同意
C位于S东北部，靠近地中海，在历史上曾长期保持独立，但在15世纪通过王室的通婚成为S王国的一部分
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从别的国家事件反观自己的事情。