Scotland and Wales need to adopt "Independista" rather than Nationalist.

In a recent Guardian article entitled England’s sorry delusions are Scotland’s best argument for independence which highlights the somewhat schizophrenic position of that newspaper, Kevin McKenna  writes am article which seems to attack British English Nationalism emphasised by Brexit with a warning against right wing nationalism.

There are pitfalls to be avoided, many of them associated with expression and attitude, when you attempt to make the case for a nation’s independence.
These occur often and can be difficult to avoid. How do you proclaim the virtues of your nation and its ability to steer its own course without sounding boastful or conveying a sense of exceptionalism?
In the case of Scotland and its present struggle to determine its own future, there is another challenge. How does Scottish independence avoid being tainted by the bleak and bitter rightwing nationalist movements of other countries such as France, Italy and Germany?
“Let’s make America great again” sounds an awful lot like “Let’s make Scotland the best wee country in the world”, this being the favoured slogan of our government and tourist agencies when we seek to attract visitors and investment. How about we simply reach for making Scotland decent, functioning and capable of handling stuff, instead? There is a very fine line between reminding your own citizens of what you’re good at and stating that you’re better than everyone else, especially your closest neighbours.
Yet, unless Scotland’s first minister can find an alternative word to “nationalism” to describe a desire for independence, then she and the movement she leads will forever be saddled with the same term that darker groups use to convey a sense of superiority. They simply need to live with it and keep making the case for a more civilised and inclusive nationalism.

Well  there is  a  alternative word Scotland can use and that's to call yourself an  Independista rather that Nationalist.

This Blog and Borthlas where John Dixon have been promoting Independista as a label following our friends in Catolonia .

Indeed it is in Catalonia that the distinction is clear . It is the Spanish State politicians  that are Nationalists the former governing party The People's Party (PP) is a conservative centre-right party that took its current name in 1989, replacing the previous People's Alliance, a more conservative party founded in 1976 by seven former Franco's ministers .

Alas the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party which has replaced the heirs of Franco as the governing party in Spain has not changed the attack by Spain on the  Independistas in Catalonia echoing the UK situation , where its sister party Labour is in fact a British Nationalist Party on the left with progressive elements but still unable to shake of a legacy of British Imperialism.

But it is not just a question of parties seeking autonomy using Independista as the word for themselves.

In the recent Quebec Coalition Avenir Quebec, founded in 2011 by millionaire businessman Francois Legault, won the vote in the French-speaking province with 74 of 125 seats in the provincial legislature, defeating the incumbent Liberal Party, which had been in power almost uninterrupted for 15 years. The Parti Quebecois, the political force behind two referendums on separating from Canada, was dealt one of the worst results in its history.

Although the party does not support independence, it advocates Quebec nationalism. On 10 April 2014, the party stated that it would never hold a referendum on leaving Canada: "[There] will never be a referendum for the life of the coalition even after 10 years, even after 20 years, so that's clear. And I was clear but people understood something else. François Legault also pointed out that "Once it is clear that there will never be a referendum with the Coalition Avenir Québec, the anglophones and allophones, who don't want a referendum, have to understand that we offer an alternative to the Liberals. However, Legault has stated "aggressive[ly]" that a CAQ government would not repeal Bill 101.

Despite opposing Iindependence CAQ have if anything been more supportive  than Inependistas of the  Charter of the French Language  also known as Bill 101  a 1977 law in the province of Quebec in Canada defining French, the language of the majority of the population, as the official language of the provincial government. It is the central legislative piece in Quebec's language policy.

I believe that Plaid founder Saunders Lewis once  said that he would accept a "Glorified County Council" if it could preserve the Welsh Language and culture.

There may be some Welsh "Nationalists" who still follow that line , and there may be those in Scotland who believe that it is not about Independence  but Scottish culture and Identity that is the core of their belief.

For those of us who believe that whilst Wales and Scotland  have distinctive voices but which are not based on any form of ethnicity then we should drop Nationalist for Independista , and unify our country to seek independence  and that is for all our people irrespective of place of birth or ethnic origin.

The diffrence between this and what Mckenna has termed in his article "England’s sorry delusions." cannot be emphasise enough.