Talking about Barcelona as “the capital of Catalonia” is much more than talking about an honorary title: it is understanding Barcelona’s responsibility towards the country. Without any doubt, the country needs the city and its metropolis as an engine. In the same way that Barcelona needs the strength of a country behind it. Without Catalonia, Barcelona would not be what it is. And without Barcelona, ??Catalonia would not have become the strong and dynamic nation it is today.
This simple and necessary logic, in recent years, seems to have been forgotten. Barcelona has relegated the importance of its leadership and has turned its back on the rest of Catalonia, as if it could live on its own, as if it did not need the country, with apathy and disinterest in its challenges. And this is not good: neither for the country nor for the capital. What are we talking about when we say that we have to reconnect Barcelona with the country?
For example, Barcelona has to share its international leadership with the country’s cities. Today, the large networks of cities and metropolises where global debates are influenced and the challenges of the new century are faced reside in the capital. Barcelona also has to be able to weave strategies to contribute to the economic revitalization of the entire country, understanding the responsibility that the city, in many cases, is the gateway to Catalonia. The capital has to be the platform for talent, which nourishes and is nourished by the industries around it. And even more, Barcelona should be the great showcase of Catalan art, Catalan culture and gastronomy (wine, oil, sweet fruit, etc.). And today it is not.
In the coming years, Catalonia will need a Barcelona to act as its capital. The country needs the strength of a Barcelona that is competitive, innovative and open to the world. But to achieve this leadership, Barcelona must find the balance between being a successful city and guaranteeing that Barcelonans can live and live well (housing, work, quality of public space, local commerce, etc.). The capital of our country needs to make being a global city compatible with the fact of being able to protect our way of being, our character and personality, our language, what makes us unique and envied everywhere.
In short, for Catalonia to be Catalonia, we need Barcelona to continue being Barcelona. Can we build a new country without Barcelona and what it represents? No. Having a new country means, yes or yes, not giving up on Barcelona. And, above all, for working so that the capital and his country go hand in hand. Because the new Catalonia that we want to build needs the future ambition of the Barcelona that is to come. And even more! The new stage that the city has to open also depends on a new Barcelona generation. We will need to give voice to new references, connected to new times, that already exist in the city in emerging sectors of culture, economy, innovation, etc. Therefore, there is a new Barcelona that resembles the Catalonia we want.