Catalan separatism is ‘attack on democracy’

Spain’s King Felipe VI has said the recent Catalan push for independence was an attack on his country’s democratic system, and should be a lesson for the world on the need to preserve the rule of law and national sovereignty.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Felipe said what happened in Catalonia was “an attempt to undermine the basic rules of our democratic system”.

Spain experienced its worst political crisis in decades when the Catalan parliament declared independence on 27 October. Spain responded by invoking special powers allowing it to remove the regional government, dissolve Catalonia’s parliament and call fresh regional elections in December.

The election, however, saw separatist parties regaining a slim majority.