Sometimes news comes from beyond our borders which gives us back our hope in the health of democracy and in respect for the always uncomfortable decisions on territorial matters when they affect something as delicate as independence. Accustomed as we are to seeing Spain resolve all its territorial conflicts with police, legal and political repression and without the slightest dialogue, seeing the first minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, introduce a second referendum onto the United Kingdom's agenda is truly enviable.
It's logical that the media in Madrid should try to have this question talked about as little as possible since, in their appearances, the Zarzuela and Moncloa palaces always come off poorly in comparison to their equivalents in Buckingham Palace and 10 Downing Street. And the thing is that, in general, the print papers flee from a new Scottish referendum, when after summer there will be "admonitory" sentences against the members of the Catalan government and the other pro-independence leaders who were put on trial in the Supreme Court.
It's worth listening, for example, to the UK Labour Party's number two, John McDonnell, suggesting that his party -roughly equivalent to Spain's PSOE- should allow a second referendum to be held if the Scottish Parliament were to vote for it. He said this in words any democrat can understand: "We would let the Scottish people decide. That's democracy." "It will be for the Scottish parliament and the Scottish people to decide that. They will take a view about whether they want another referendum." Why can't Madrid have a similar attitude?
A columnist for the newspaper The Guardian, Simon Jenkins, published an article this Friday saying that Scottish independence is inevitable and that if he were Scottish he would vote in favour of it without thinking twice. Although British prime minister Boris Johnson's position is opposed to a referendum, there's a long time yet before the second half of 2020 or early 2021, which is when Nicola Sturgeon is thinking of allowing the people to vote. Politics, dialogue and respect for the wishes of the public are greatly welcome.