Tensions between Madrid, regions as Spain votes

By Sarah Morris

FIGUERES, Spain (Reuters) - In Salvador Dali's home town of Figueres in northeastern Spain, Joan Carreras is chatting about soccer, but he's really talking about politics.

"As a child I never understood when I was in a bar and all the adults cheered when Spain scored a goal," said Carreras, 41, who teaches the Catalan language and special classes to immigrant pupils in a school in the wealthy region of Catalonia.

Now, Carreras finds himself dealing with a similar sense of confusion from his 11-year-old son, who wonders why Catalonia -- a region with its own language and distinct customs -- cannot play Spain in the football World Cup.

Such questions expose the emotions behind separatist movements in Catalonia and the nearby Basque Country -- emotions that have come to the fore again as Spain prepares to elect a new government on March 9.

When Kosovo declared independence this month, it lifted the lid on this sensitivity. Spain refused to recognize Kosovo's unilateral declaration, saying it did not adhere to international law.

How to deal with restive Catalans and Basques is an important campaign issue. The conservative Popular Party (PP) accuses Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's Socialist government of failing to defend national unity.

Zapatero led a peace process with Basque separatist guerrillas ETA but talks broke down after a bomb attack on Madrid airport in 2006. ETA guerrillas have killed more than 800 people in a 40-year campaign for Basque independence.

Although polls predict a narrow win for the Socialists, they may have to strike deals with moderate nationalist parties in Catalonia and the Basque Country to form another government.

And they are likely to charge a high price for their support -- something that enrages many in the rest of Spain.

The Catalans, led by the moderate nationalist Convergence and Union coalition (CiU), would demand the right to collect the region's taxes, while the Basque Nationalist Party wants Madrid to let it manage social security, worth an annual 1.5 billion euros ($2.3 billion).

TOO MUCH, NOT ENOUGH

In both regions, there are those who think these demands go too far, and others who think they don't go far enough.

Teacher Carreras is among the latter.

He will vote for Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC) -- a small left-wing party which wants Catalonia to be independent.

He's in a minority, but Catalan and Basque politicians say separatist sentiment has grown as a reaction to what they say is the central government's refusal to grant enough concessions to the regions.