The scenes from Spain last night were remarkable – streets and squares filled with people, often silently making their point, in a mass demonstration of defiance all across the country.
This is how democracies should respond to terrorism.
Then, slowly, thousands began to congregate in squares, unfurling banners begging “We don’t want to die” and “Death to ETA”, “Peace not terrorism”. As the thousands multiplied into a million, and then two, Madrid knew it was witnessing the biggest mass-protest in Spanish history.
At first, the worst thing was the silence. The loudest, most raucous city in Europe – famous for its working class which never draws breath and always there with an opinion – was suddenly mute.
