Czech Economist Defends Catalonia’s Independence
(Help Catalonia) Lidové noviny is one of the most prestigious Czech newspapers. A few weeks ago they published an article by Pavel Kohout who argues in favor of Catalan sovereignty in a demolishing way. Kohout is a young and prestigious economist who acts as an adviser for the Czech government, and a highly respected opinion maker among the Czech elite. This is the first time that a text in Czech is published defending Catalonia’s independence.
The text begins with a reference to Orwell’s Homage to Catalonia, where he talks about his own experiences during the Spanish Civil War (1936-39), when a democratic Catalonia was militarily crushed, and Spanish fascists would execute countless people at firing squads.
July 20, 2012 - 15:05
The full text of Kohout’s article is here: http://www.vlada.cz/cz/ppov/ekonomicka-rada/clanky/pavel-kohout-hold-katalansku–verze-2012-96095/
In it, the author argues that Catalonia is sending too much tax money to the central government in Madrid. However, he also states that “independence of [that] country is an extremely unrealistic vision” (“Osamostatnění země je krajně nereálnou vizí (…).”)