Leader moves aggressively to clip wings

BARCELONA, Spain — Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy left the nation breathless when he announced the steps he wants to take to crush the separatist movement in the prosperous Catalonia region.

Rajoy called on Spain’s Senate on Saturday to trigger a previously untapped section of the constitution that allows the central government to temporarily intervene in the running of a region if its leaders have broken the law.

Activating the constitutional authority granted by Article 155 is Madrid’s boldest response so far to avowals from Catalonia’s leaders to declare independence based on an Oct. 1 referendum that a court has judged as illegal.

There are some of the regional powers Rajoy is seeking by triggering Article 155:

Depose leaders

First and foremost, Rajoy wants to remove the members of Catalonia’s pro-independence regional government. Catalan president Carles Puigdemont, vice president Oriol Junqueras, and the 12 regional ministers claim Catalonia is sovereign and not subject to Spanish law.

Impose control

Catalonia has secured the ability to govern itself in many areas since democracy returned to Spain following the death of dictator Gen. Francisco Franco in 1975. Education, health and policing are areas in which the region enjoys self-rule.

Rajoy proposes taking over the vast regional administration and its roughly 200,000 civil servants after the top officials are removed. How Madrid’s management would work is unclear. One option would be for Spanish ministries to assume direct control of their regional counterparts.

Rajoy said interim authorities would have the power to fire public employees and that all decisions by regional administrators would need the central government’s approval.

Timetable for takeover

A special commission of 27 senators will assess Rajoy’s request on Tuesday. Regional president Puigdemont will have the chance to argue his case before the Senate on Thursday before it holds a vote expected Friday.

Difficult to enforce

Political observers across the ideological spectrum agree Rajoy and his government may have to resort to using force if Catalonia’s leaders disobey orders to step down. Calls for resistance and disobedience have become standard in the secessionist camp.

Hardcore separatists will put intense pressure on Puigdemont and his government to stay in office. There are fears such a standoff could lead to violent police raids like those that marred the referendum.

“I don’t think that Puigdemont will just walk away because he receives notification that he has been removed in a letter,” political analyst Josep Ramoneda said. “I think Rajoy is going to find that this will be very hard to enforce.”