Catalans back to work
After Spain takes charge
BARCELONA (AP) — Catalonia’s civil servants face their first full work week since Spain’s central government overturned an independence declaration by firing the region’s elected leaders.
All eyes will be on whether the transfer of power will be smooth or face opposition, which could deepen a monthlong political crisis.
There was no immediate sign if ousted regional leader Carles Puigdemont and other members of his deposed Cabinet would try to go to their offices today, after the regional parliament proclaimed independence from Spain in a secret ballot on Friday.
Puigdemont has vowed peaceful and “democratic opposition” to his Cabinet’s dismissal, but he hasn’t clarified if that means accepting an early regional election as a way out of the deadlock.
He’s likely to be accused of rebellion this week for pushing ahead with secession.
Meanwhile, the main civic group behind the pro-independence campaign have called for widespread civil disobedience and have given detailed instructions to the around 200,000 civil servants working for the Catalan region of how they should behave.
Most of them start their working day at 9 a.m. (0800 GMT) and, if too many did not turn up or decided not to accept instructions, it would cast important doubts over the Spanish government’s strategy to draw a line under a one-month crisis that has dented economic growth and fuelled social unrest.
La Vanguardia newspaper said on Sunday members of the Catalan Cabinet had left their offices, which were now under the central government’s effective control.
Several Spanish ministers said at the weekend they were convinced civil servants would obey orders and reminded that those who did not could lose their job.
Spain’s interior ministry named a new chief for the regional police on Saturday who has insisted that the 17,000 officers of the force should remain neutral.
Interior Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido praised the Mossos for their work in an open letter on Sunday and urged them to accept temporary direction from Madrid.
“We have opened a new chapter and in this new chapter the Mossos d’Esquadra will become again the police of all the Catalans. This is your duty,” Zoido said in the letter.
Another test of the government’s response will be whether companies stop relocating out of Catalonia in search of stability and legal certainty after several hundred moved out earlier this month.
The government’s move to impose direct rule received the backing of several influential Catalan business lobbies who called on firms to stay in the region.