Spanish PM dissolves Catalan parliament, calls snap poll
RAJOY’S MOVE COMES AFTER SEPARATISTS VOTE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN SHARP ESCALATION OF CRISIS
Spain dissolved Catalonia’s parliament yesterday and called for new regional elections after separatists voted for independence in a sharp escalation of a constitutional crisis that has stoked alarm in Europe.
In a televised address after an emergency cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said he had also removed secessionist Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont and his executive.
Rajoy moved swiftly after the Senate gave his government sweeping powers to impose direct rule on the semi-autonomous region to quash its drive to break away from Spain.
He called for regional elections on December 21 as part of efforts to “restore normality” after the vote in the Catalan parliament plunged Spain into uncharted waters. After a months-long standoff with Madrid, regional lawmakers voted 70 to 10 in the 135-member parliament to declare Catalonia “a republic in the form of an independent and sovereign state”.
Demonstrators in Barcelona broke out in ecstatic shouts of: “Independence!” as the result was announced, while separatist MPs cheered, clapped and embraced before breaking out in the Catalan anthem. But any cause for joy was soon nipped in the bud with Rajoy’s announcement.
“We Spaniards are living through a sad day in which a lack of reason prevailed upon the law and demolished democracy in Catalonia,” he said.
Madrid’s allies in the European Union and the United States rallied behind Rajoy, voicing alarm over the latest developments in the deep constitutional crisis, and expressing support for a united Spain.
Analysts say Catalonia’s government, now dissolved, would have had no legal power to execute the independence vote.
Dozens of opposition MPs had walked out before the secret ballot in the Catalan parliament, one lamenting “a dark day” for democracy.
As Catalonia’s regional parliament declared independence, the mood in Barcelona was mixed — part festive, part fearful as the central government was poised to impose direct rule on the semi-autonomous region to stop its drive to break from Spain.
“It has cost us so much to get here,” 38-year-old social worker Judith Rodriguez said in a jubilant crowd, tears in her eyes after Catalonia’s regional parliament declared independence in a ballot boycotted by opposition MPs. “I am very emotional about finally moving forward, to be able to build a republic, a new country, from scratch,” added Rodriguez, who wore a Tshirt with the slogan fem pais, or “let’s build a country”.
Joan Servitje, a 66-yearold grandfather and waiter, said he felt that Catalan independence was the only way to preserve the region’s distinctive culture, history, identity, and language — something he argued should not be taken for granted.
“I was not taught Catalan at school. Back then, it was forbidden,” he said, serving coffees and omelettes to customers in bar Haiti and referring to former dictator Francisco Franco’s repression of Catalonia. “The language, the identity of the people. You cannot destroy the identity of the people.”
Ballot termed illegal
Spain’s Constitutional Court ruled the ballot illegal, but separatists continued to push their agenda forward.
The declaration of independence, though, will likely be short-lived as it is not recognised by Madrid or abroad, and Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s central government is poised to take over Catalan political powers and finances.
Many Catalans — be they pro- or against independence — treasure their region’s autonomy highly, and feel this is a drastic move. “There is no going back,” said Servitje, whose views are supported by his elder sister, Montserrat Servitje.
“I agree with independence, but not the form that it has taken,” she said. We do not know how the story is going to end,” she added, concerned about how events would develop.
In a nearby charcuterie, 24-year-old Pol Aranda was cutting up meat while discussing the political tensions.
“I have always been on the Spanish side,” he said.
But he admitted that police violence during the outlawed independence referendum on October 1 had shaken him. “I do not agree with Spanish politics but I do not agree with those here either,” he said, describing the recent rows between Catalan separatist leaders and Madrid as a “game of power”.
On Sant Jaume square, sitting in front of the art gallery where she works, 34-yearold Ana Moran questioned the priorities of the politicians. “The separatists don’t have a road map,” she said.
She explained that she had wanted to cast a spoilt ballot in the referendum but didn’t due to “too much waiting, too many IT problems”.