The Catalonia predicament

The first collateral damage or, more precisely, the first serious casualty - from the Catalonia independence row in terms of how this is being felt in Greece was the affair involving Madrid's ambassador in Athens, Enrique Viguera, who is said to have criticized the stance of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras's leftist-led government on the issue (the envoy has denied the allegation).

The result was a Mediterranean mess as Madrid failed to back its envoy.

If Greece is experiencing repercussions of this nature, then one would expect that the situation in Catalonia could easily spin out of control.

It is the first time since parliamentary democracy was restored in Spain that a region has claimed its independence. And it is the first time that Madrid has responded by imposing direct rule on a region.

Constitutionally speaking, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is...