The Dutch Parliament's revolt against the Spanish king Felipe II: this was the historical fact celebrated this Saturday by Hans van Baalen, the president of ALDE, the liberal-democrat group in the European Parliament.
On Twitter, Van Baalen shared an image of the Plakkaat van Verlatinghe (Act of Abjuration), written in 1581, which would subsequently become the Netherlands' most important constitutional document.
As the MEP says, the Dutch Parliament deposed their former ruler Spanish king Felipe II because he "oppressed his citizens”, and this led to the independence of a large part of the "Dutch provinces" from Spain. The ALDE leader adds that the document later inspired the United States' Declaration of Independence as well as the French Revolution. “Rulers should serve and not dictate” concludes the tweet - an affirmation which might well be seen as relevant to the present day by many Catalan observers.
González Pons looks at Cs
After the publication of the tweet, the PP (Popular Party) spokesperson in the European Parliament, Esteban González Pons, took the opportunity to put the spotlight on Cs (Citizens), a party which is part of the ALDE group (to which Catalonia's Pro-independence PDeCAT also belongs).
González Pons regretted that with this badly-timed tweet Baalen "has put his foot in it", and now it "is being used by the nationalist-populists". Thus he directed his tweet to Cs leaders Albert Rivera and Inés Arrimadas "in case they have not been warned".