Political crisis
Crucial juncture in standoff between Spain, Catalonia
The standoff between Spain and its secessionist-minded region of Catalonia headed to a crucial juncture Thursday as Catalans awaited their president’s next move amid speculation he might back off a full independence proclamation by calling a snap election.
Regional President Carles Puigdemont fuelled the confusion by arranging, cancelling and then rearranging an official address for Thursday afternoon, before the region’s lawmakers were set to debate their response to Spanish government plans to take direct control of Catalonia.
Later Thursday afternoon, the Catalan government announced Puigdemont would make an address after all before the parliamentary debate.
Local media had reported earlier in the day that the regional president was expected to use the address to call a snap election. The move would defuse, at least for the time being, the monthlong standoff with central authorities but that could open wounds among Catalan separatists.
The last-minute changes came amid ongoing negotiations within the ruling Catalan coalition and between politicians in Barcelona and Madrid in order to avoid a suspension of regional powers.
Catalonia’s independence bid has led to Spain’s deepest political crisis in the four decades since the country restored democratic
rule after Gen. Francisco Franco’s dictatorship.
The northeastern region of 7.5 million people has in a heated political battle with the Spanish government since a disputed Oct. 1 referendum on independence. Those who voted were overwhelmingly in favour, but less than half of eligible voters went to the polls in a vote that had been outlawed by Spain’s constitutional Court.
Puigdemont insists the referendum gave him the mandate to declare independence. But so far he has stopped short of proclaiming a new republic, saying he wants to give the Spanish government a chance to negotiate.
Madrid, for its part, insists it cannot negotiate secession. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is seeking to activate constitutional powers that will allow the government to take over control of much of the autonomous region’s affairs. The Spanish Senate is scheduled to approve the plan to trigger Article 155 of the Constitution today.
In Barcelona, a spokesman for the Catalan Republic Left party, or ERC, a separatist party that is part of the ruling coalition, said the coalition was at risk of breaking apart if Puigdemont calls a snap election.
The spokesman, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity
of ongoing last-minute negotiations, said that if a vote was called, the party would abandon Puigdemont’s government.
Puigdemont’s centre-right PDeCAt party and ERC have governed in a minority coalition with the support in parliament of the far-left, anti-establishment CUP party. Their unity, and the political future in Catalonia, was at stake amid the last-minute negotiations.
Catalan Vice-President Oriol Junqueras told The Associated Press on Wednesday a regional election would go against the mandate given by voters in a disputed referendum.