It’ll be a tense Christmas in the Spanish’s PM’s household this year. Yesterday, in an election called by Mariano Rajoy last month, Catalan pro-independence parties gained a slim majority in the region’s parliament: Together for Catalonia, the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) and the Popular Unity Party (CUP) look set to have jointly won 70 seats in the 135-seat congress. Rajoy’s conservative Popular Party, meanwhile, posted its worst result ever, losing eight of its previously-held eleven seats. The stage is set for the Spanish government’s worst nightmare: another attempt by Catalan secessionists to divorce Spain.
Rajoy had been hoping for a return to normality in Catalonia after a tumultuous few months. On October 1st, the former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont held an independence referendum that the Spanish state declared illegal. The vote nevertheless went ahead – despite the baton-wielding efforts of national police – and 90pc of its participants voted for independence from Spain.
Puigdemont’s ensuing declaration of independence caused Rajoy to sack the Catalan government and seize control of the region himself – a drastic option allowed for by clause 155 of the Spanish constitution.
Get Britain's best politics newsletters
Register to get The Spectator's insight and opinion straight to your inbox. You can then read two free articles each week.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in