Catalonia crisis shows Spain's constitution is no longer fit for purpose

Amid reports swirling that Catalonia’s president, Carles Puigdemont, was either set to call new elections to the Catalan parliament or declare full independence from Spain, he abruptly cancelled a scheduled press conference on October 26. When he did speak, he did not call elections and said it was up to Catalonia’s parliament to decide how to act.

For Puigdemont, calling new elections would be a high-risk tactic. Even though many have come to deeply dislike the government’s violent response to Catalonia’s independence referendum on October 1, there is also dissatisfaction among Catalans who do not want independence. Puigdemont cannot guarantee that another poll will deal him a stronger hand. It could be seen as a tactic to remove the threat of an imposition of Article 155 of the Spanish Constitution, which would revoke Catalonia’s powers of autonomy – although the prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, has not officially confirmed that this would be the case.

Following Puigdemont’s semi-declaration of independence on October 10, he called for an opening of negotiations with Rajoy. But due to errors on both sides, the possibility for constructive dialogue remains feeble.

The decision of Catalan nationalists to commit to a legally binding referendum, despite the Constitutional Court ruling it to be illegal, was a statement intended to draw a line in the sand. The Rajoy government, however, fanned the fire rather than put it out. By bringing the Civil Guard onto the streets of Barcelona, and using every little bit of the crowd control legislation passed in July 2015, the government succeeded in turning an increasing amount of Catalans against them. The arrests of Jordi Cuixart and Jordi Sanchez, the leaders of the two main nationalist organisations in Catalonia, also sparked further outrage.
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Catalan crisis: Thousands rally in Madrid, urge jailing of deposed leader

"Prison for Puigdemont," shouted thousands of people in central Madrid, gathered under a giant Spanish flag on Saturday in anger at Catalonia's unilateral declaration of independence under secessionist leader Carles Puigdemont.

As music blared from giant speakers -- from British band Coldplay to Spanish singer Manolo Escobar's "Y viva Espana" ("And long live Spain" in Spanish) -- pro-unity protesters banded together on the square.

Unhappy with Catalonia's secession bid, many also directed anger at Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, whom they accuse of having been too soft on the region's separatist leaders.

"It is a disgrace what happened in Catalonia, and it's a disgrace what happened after," said Carlos Fernandez, a 41- year-old mining engineer.

On Friday, the Catalan parliament declared unilateral independence.

Rajoy replied by axing Puigdemont and his executive, dissolving parliament, and calling snap December 21 regional elections to quash what he termed an "escalation of disobedience."

"Nothing is going to change in two months," said Fernandez of Rajoy's intervention, "it's just prolonging the problem."

Sitting on a concrete ledge clutching a large red and yellow national flag, he said he was disappointed at the low pro-unity turnout.
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Catalonia crisis: US comes out in support for unified Spain

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders has reiterated the United States' stand for a unified Spain.

When asked about any comment on the secession of Catalonia and Spain at a press briefing, the Press Secretary said, "I'm not aware of any phone calls today, but we certainly echo the State Department and again reiterate our support for a unified Spain."

Yesterday, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy dissolved Catalan Parliament to impose direct ruler over it and called for a new regional election on December 21, according to media reports.

This came hours after the Catalonia parliament voted to declare independence from Spain and proclaimed to be a republic.

Prime Minister Rajoy called for maintaining calm and said the rule of law would be restored in Catalonia, which is gripped in political crisis since the last three years.

Reports further said that the Catalan declaration was celebrated by a large number of independence supporters, who gathered outside the regional parliament in Barcelona, shouting "Liberty" in Catalan, as the independence vote went through.

In the vote, boycotted by the opposition, 70 approved in favour of the motion declaring independence while 10 voted against it.

This major development comes just weeks after the Catalan independence referendum of 2017, which was declared illegal, where 92 percent of the people voted backing independence.
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