Bringing Secessionism into the Mainstream: The 2012 Regional Election in Catalonia

Abstract

Called two years ahead of schedule, the 2012 Catalan election was held in a context of economic recession, controversial austerity measures, growing political disaffection, and increasing popular support for Catalonia's independence. The election was mainly marked by the decision of the incumbent moderate nationalists to advocate for the region's secession from Spain, in the wake of a massive rally in support of the independence of Catalonia. In this article we report on the context, the campaign, and the results of the election, and assess the likely reasons why an unexpectedly high number of voters chose to defect from the incumbent. Additionally, we use survey data to investigate the rapid conversion of a substantial portion of the Catalan public to favour independence, formerly regarded as a rather extreme position, after the 2010 Constitutional Court's controversial decision to curtail the region's reformed Statute of Autonomy.

Refining vote choice in an ethno-regionalist context: Three-dimensional ideological voting in Catalonia and Quebec

“…However, vote share for the dominant parties in Catalonia has been falling since 1999 (Rico and Liñeira, 2014). Though mostly attributable to new parties, voters have also been turning to alternatives located at either end of the ideological spectrum (Petithomme and Garcia, 2013;Rico, 2012;Rico and Liñeira, 2014). These changes to the partisan landscape came to the fore in the 2012 Catalan election, when Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC) replaced the PSC as one of the top two parties in terms of seat share.…”

“…This fiscal imbalance, which the 2006 reform attempted to resolve, has been an important grievance fueling Catalan nationalism (B eland and Lecours, 2014;Guibernau, 2014). Therefore it is understandable that the recent economic crisis was an important issue in the 2012 Catalan elections (Rico and Liñeira, 2014). On the other hand, Quebec has traditionally been in a weaker economic position in the Canadian federation and has greatly benefited from equalization payments; a situation believed to have historically worked against support for secession (B eland and Lecours, 2014).…”

“…For decades, Catalonia and Quebec had been dominated by two main parties: Converg encia i Uni o (CiU) and the PSC in the former and the Parti Lib eral du Qu ebec (PLQ) and the PQ in the latter. However, vote share for the dominant parties in Catalonia has been falling since 1999 (Rico and Liñeira, 2014). Though mostly attributable to new parties, voters have also been turning to alternatives located at either end of the ideological spectrum (Petithomme and Garcia, 2013;Rico, 2012;Rico and Liñeira, 2014).…”

“…Led by the CiU, Catalan nationalism had traditionally not been strikingly independentist, but the 2012 Catalan election seems to have marked a turning point. The main electoral issue in 2012 was sovereignty: Catalonia's dret a decidir [right to decide] (Rico and Liñeira, 2014). The CiU took a more independentist turn, which coincided with a sharp rise in support for independence, and campaigned on holding a referendum on self-determination (Ibid.).…”

Tweeting on Catalonia’s Independence: The Dynamics of Political Discussion and Group Polarisation

“…This situation has completely redefined the political landscape (e.g. Rico et al, 2014;Orriols et al, 2016), with the emergence of new political forces, the reinforcement of political parties focused on this cleavage and the split of mainstream political parties, which have so far sustained an ambiguous position, into pro-and anti-independence factions.…”