Spain tells Catalan leader, “regional election not enough to solve crisis’’
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Election
Madrid, Oct. 24, 2017 (Reuters/NAN) Spain Justice Minister Rafael Catala on Tuesday said that Catalonia’s leader cannot solve its political crisis with Madrid just by calling for regional elections.
He damped hopes of a quick fix for a dispute that has rattled investors and fractured the country.
The Spanish government said it will impose direct rule on Catalonia from Friday to counter an illegal independence push, invoking never-before-used powers to fire the government of the northeastern region, critical to the country’s economy.
The Catalan parliament will meet on Thursday to agree on a response to Madrid, something many analysts said could pave way for a formal declaration of independence.
Secessionists in Catalonia said that an independence referendum held on Oct. 1 which drew only a 43 per cent turnout and was mostly shunned by Catalans, who wish to remain in Spain has accorded them a mandate to claim statehood.
Catalonia on Monday said it was confident that officials including police would defy attempts by Madrid to enforce direct rule, raising fears among Spain’s European allies of separatist contagion affecting other parts of the continent.
Spanish political leaders, influential business lobbies and most Catalonia newspapers have urged Puigdemont to call a regional election before he is stripped out of his authority.
They said that direct rule from Madrid, which was the norm during the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, would be a humiliation for Catalonia and pose a serious risk of social and economic unrest.
Puigdemont has remained silent on the matter of elections.
Some of his senior advisers have said holding a vote is a possibility while others have ruled it out.
His pro-secession allies are also divided.
The Spanish government said a snap election would be a first step but Puigdemont would also have to withdraw an ambiguous declaration of independence he made earlier this month.
“When the government proposes an option so extreme as Article 155 (powers to cancel Catalonia’s autonomous status), it’s because we believe that there has been a serious failure by Puigdemont to meet his obligations.
“Everything is not fixed just by calling an election,” Justice Minister Rafael Catala said during a radio interview. (Reuters/NAN)
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Edited by Celine-Damilola Oyewole/Felix Ajide