Spain strikes deal to force Catalonia to hold election
Madrid secures agreement with opposition to go to polls by January in run-up to crisis cabinet meeting
THE Spanish government wants to dissolve Catalonia’s parliament and hold elections as part of measures to suspend the region’s autonomy.
Mariano Rajoy, the prime minister, has called an emergency cabinet meeting for this morning to pave the way for Madrid establishing central control in the region, whose leaders continue to threaten to declare independence.
The government has struck a deal with opposition socialists to force elections in Catalonia by early 2018 as part of a package of special powers expected to be unveiled today.
On the eve of the cabinet meeting at which the prime minister will decide how to deploy Article 155 of Spain’s constitution to bring pro-independence leaders into line, the socialists agreed steps that will lead to elections in Catalonia by January.
Polls would give voters a say on Catalonia’s future in a way that was sanctioned by Madrid, unlike this month’s independence referendum, which was ruled unconstitutional.
Carmen Calvo, the socialists’ spokesman, said the party supported a “limited, surgical, gentle and gradual” use of Article 155, itself described as a constitutional “nuclear option”.
Mr Rajoy, attending an EU summit in Brussels, said that “the goal is double: the return to legality and the recovery of institutional normalcy”.
He would not confirm the plan to hold a snap election, and said that an Article 155 action plan had been agreed with the socialists and Ciudadanos, the fourth-largest force in Spain’s parliament, but he would not announce the measures until after today’s meeting.
Two influential grass roots separatist groups, the Catalan National Assembly (ANC) and Omnium Cultural, issued a call on social media for activists to take “peaceful direct action” yesterday. The two groups, whose leaders have been in prison since Monday pending a sedition investigation, urged supporters to withdraw cash from the country’s five main bank chains.
Separatists staged a protest against the central government’s move – and against banks which have moved their headquarters out of the region in response to the crisis – by flocking to obey. Some protesters made symbolic withdrawals of €155 (£138) – a reference to Article 155 of the constitution.
Theresa May yesterday offered her support for the Spanish government. Echoing the message of other leaders, including Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel, Mrs May said Britain believed that “people should be abiding by the rule of law”.
Spanish King Felipe VI, in an unusually emotional speech last night, said his nation was facing an “unacceptable secession attempt” by Catalonia, insisting the region remains an essential part of Spain. “We do not want to give up that which we have built together,” he said.