Catalans face uncertain future after fractious election
BARCELONA After an almost surreal parliamentary election finished with a record-smashing turnout, the Spanish government in Madrid and the Catalan secessionists in Barcelona find themselves right back where they started – stuck with each other, and hating it.
The three pro-independence parties won a paper-thin majority of seats in the Catalan parliament, an electoral sprint made more impressive because one of their leaders was in prison and the others in exile.
But the secessionists did not win the future – not with this election, anyway.
Despite a turnout of more than 80 per cent of 5.5 million eligible voters, the pro-independence parties captured less than half the vote, 48 per cent. Their opponents argue that this is hardly a mandate to declare independence and secede from Spain.
Catalonia’s former president, Carles Puigdemont, told reporters in Brussels yesterday that the situation back home was a mess.
Puigdemont called for talks with Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. ‘‘Anywhere but Spain,’’ he said, ‘‘for obvious reasons.’’ The main reason is that in Spain, Puigdemont faces arrest on charges of sedition and rebellion, crimes that carry a 30-year prison sentence.
‘‘Now is the time for dialogue,’’ Puigdemont said.
Rajoy was dismissive, saying he would talk with whoever became the new head of the regional government – but they would have to do so in Catalonia.
He added that he would prefer to negotiate with Ines Arrimadas, the leader of the Citizens party, which was the top vote-getter in the Catalan elections and ran on a platform of opposing secession.
Her party did the best of any anti-independence party in Catalonia’s recent history, though it fell short of getting enough votes to form a new government.
But there is not much time. The law requires that a new government be in place by late January. The pro-independence parties, already squabbling, will struggle to see whether they can form a governing coalition.
‘‘It’s not going to be as easy, because the pro-independence parties no longer share a joint road map of how to proceed,’’ said sociologist Lluis Orriol, a professor at Carlos III University of Madrid.
‘‘The big question now is if they insist on having Puigdemont as the president of the government, because that won’t happen. Because then he will come and he will have to go to jail,’’ said Fernando Fernandez, a political scientist at IE University in Madrid.
Fernandez said the separatist parties could decide to form a gov- AP ernment that would seek something short of independence, without Puigdemont at the helm.
Short of that, the impasse between the separatist bloc and the central government in Madrid is likely to continue.
‘‘No Spanish president will ever negotiate with any Catalan president outside of Spain,’’ Fernandez said. ‘‘That will not happen. Period.’’
Puigdemont’s supporters say they might appeal directly to the European Union, or even the international community, to help resolve the impasse. But Europe has shown no sign of wanting to get involved. European leaders have described the Catalonia crisis as an internal matter for Spain and have said they think Rajoy acted in accordance with Spain’s constitution when he dissolved the rebellious Catalan regional government and called for snap elections.
Spanish courts do not appear ready to drop the charges against Puigdemont, either. In fact, just the opposite.
A Supreme Court justice named additional targets yesterday in an ongoing investigation into rebellion and misuse of public funds, a probe that now includes not only Puigdemont and his former vice-president, but the former pro-independence Catalan premier and other prominent secessionists, including a leader of one of the parties, Catalan Republican Left, that would probably be a part of any proindependence governing coalition.
But Puigdemont remained defiant. He said his side won the election and that Rajoy was humiliated.
‘‘Catalonia wants to be an independent state,’’ Puigdemont insisted immediately after the election. ‘‘This is the wish of the Catalan people.’’
The prime minister, however, warned the secessionists not to rewrite election results to suit their needs. ‘‘No-one can speak in the name of Catalonia without taking into account all of Catalonia,’’ Rajoy said. ‘‘It’s very clear there is a serious break in Catalan society that will take time to heal.’’ Washington Post