On Wednesday, the Catalan parliament voted on a Declaration of Sovereignty that is meant as a cornerstone for a referendum on independence envisaged for 2014. It was backed by CiU and ERC, which supports the minority government, plus the eco-communist ICV. The unionist Ciutadans and the Partido Popular (PP) voted against, as did the majority of the Catalan Socialist Party (PSC), although five of its deputies abstained in protest against the party line. This declaration is best defined by what it is not. It did not create a united front against Madrid. It did not garner the support of the two-thirds of the Catalan parliament necessary to change the Catalan Estatut, missing a benchmark … [Read more...] about Scrupulously ridiculous