The separatists have been complaining for days that they are being spied on and suspect Madrid. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's response is that he is also being spied on. For days, the Spanish press has been dominated by these mutual complaints.

Topics that fall short include: It is forbidden to speak Spanish in Barcelona City Hall, according to one commentator on the fact that a local police officer (Guardia Urbano) was prevented from speaking Spanish during an exam to become a sergeant. Or: In the Valencian community, the government requires a higher Valenciano language level from officials.

What's behind all these complaints?

Espionage is probably as old as wars. To protect against it, democratic societies once had the fundamental right of secrecy of correspondence, supplemented by the secrecy of letters, known collectively as privacy of correspondence.

These basic rights exist now only on paper and in reality no longer and spies of all countries have never adhered to them anyway. Many citizens will even have to be reminded that the German Chancellor Dr. Merkel was also bugged by the US-government, i.e. the allies or „friends“, which will probably not have changed with the new chancellor.

I recall that in 2019 the Valencian „Plataforma per la LLengua“ (Platform for the Language) attracted attention by needing half a million euros a year to pay 19 employees whose job is to control the use of Valenciano in public and especially in schools and in the playground. I recall that in 2019 the Valencian „Plataforma per la LLengua“ (Platform for the Language) attracted attention by needing half a million euros a year to pay 19 employees whose job is to control the use of Valenciano in public and especially in schools and in the playground.

A democratic society would reinstate the basic rights to priva of correspondence for all people and avoid any imposition of language. We should measure politicians by this standard instead of listening to their high-level whining.

In the beginning of the summer break with few real news to expect, the following news seems more important to me. The platform of teachers for the free choice of language has just been founded, which wants to bring together teachers from all over Spain to advise them. This is all the more necessary as the separatists' demand for a higher Valenciano language level is combined with bans on students who want to take their exams in their native Spanish.

What we don't need are more mutual accusations of spying in politics to distract from the fact that the politicians who are in government, whether Madrid, Barcelona or Valencia, don't care about the rights to free choice of language and respect for the people's rights to spy-free telecommunications. Things are not looking good for these two rights.