The Catalan issue, despite the apparent decrease in tension at the present time, has been on the agenda of the internal political life of the Kingdom of Spain for many years. This problem entered an acute phase in 2017, after the holding of an unconstitutional referendum on independence in the region. This move by Catalan nationalists provoked the largest political crisis in the country in the entire post-Fascist period of its existence. The Catalan issue has become one of the main components of a larger domestic political crisis in Spain, manifested in the destabilization of the country's party and political system. The importance of resolving the Catalan issue is due to the fact that the further existence of Spain as a nation-state within the current borders depends on the stabilization of this conflict. The Catalan issue is of particular importance in the light of the upcoming parliamentary elections in the country in 2023.
Catalan nationalism, rooted in the 19th century, transformed into separatism in the 1980s, threatening the existence of the Spanish state. The unstable political situation in the country caused by the crisis of the party system and serious economic problems is noticeably aggravated by the Catalan issue. The separatists representing the autonomy are not distinguished by unity, which provokes additional tension in the region, but they have a serious impact on the central government. The instability of the current Spanish government, formed by socialists, is compounded by the need to seek support from representatives of Catalan nationalist pariahs in the country’s parliament. This fact also makes it necessary for the ruling party not only to enter into a dialogue with the Catalan separatists, but also to agree to certain concessions.The situation is complicated by the fact that in the autonomy itself, the separatists are not supported by the majority of the population, and some residents of the region openly speak from unionist positions. The whole complex complex of contradictions of the Catalan question is critically connected with the problem of reforming the constitutional system of the Kingdom of Spain. The current Constitution of the country – which has become very obvious at the current stage of the development of the political and social crisis in Spain – requires a partial revision, primarily from the point of view of resolving the issue of the powers of a number of autonomies in the state and their interaction with the center.
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