Why does Catalonia want to quit Spain? It’s the economy, stupid

Catalans blame Madrid for their economic malaise. But the real culprits are in Brussels, Frankfurt, and Berlin. This disconnect is poised to fuel more regional separatism in Europe.

Disunity is in the air across Europe. Catalonia is the flashpoint, but it is not alone. Its illegal, but-clumsily-suppressed, referendum (and its, now overruled, declaration-of-independence) was preceded by the narrowly-lost Scottish referendum on independence from the UK, the successful Brexit referendum, and legal but unenforceable referenda in the Veneto and Lombardy regions that overwhelmingly opted for more autonomy within Italy earlier in October.

Why, and why now? It’s easy to get lost in the mire of local explanations and recent historical factors, and Spain has those in abundance. They matter, and they may explain why Spain is the most confrontational of the struggles between separatist, nationalist and supra-national ambitions on this Continent. But the core forces lie much deeper and are in essence much simpler.