Spanish PM in delicate balancing act over Catalan issue

CATALONIA'S referendum has attracted attention across Spain and Europe, fuelling tensions unseen in the country since its return to democracy 40 years ago. Sunday's chaotic events have distracted observers from the economic and political consequences.

The narrative presenting the dispute as one between "oppressors" and "liberators", and the question marks over what was an illegal plebiscite, have made Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's conservative government a target. The appeal of economically advanced, liberal and cosmopolitan Barcelona has been juxtaposed with discussions on possible Spanish similarities to the emotions behind the UK's referendum on leaving the European Union, or indeed the election of US President Donald Trump. Like in the UK, some critics have castigated judges and parliamentarians as "enemies of the people".

This binary interpretation is unhelpful. Modern Spain is a pluralist democracy ranking high on international metrics of governance and freedom. Rather than a clash between authority and self-determination, the Catalan issue is a nuanced conflict of democratic legitimacies. Reacting to the illegitimate nature of the Catalan government's approach to the referendum is not an easy task for any government. Ultimately, however, modern-day concepts of democracy lie in parliamentary politics, not referendums that reduce the complexities of modern societies to a "Yes" or "No" answer.