Rajoy demands ‘viable’ Catalan government
The Spanish president expressed he wants an executive capable of “serious” dialogue to recover “institutional normality”
The president of the Spanish government, Mariano Rajoy, today asked for a “viable” Catalan government which would be capable of “serious” dialogue with the state. This is the only way, insists the head of Spain’s executive, to recover “institutional normality” in Catalonia.
Ministers abroad and in prison
This is the latest reaction from Spain’s executive to the new Catalan president’s list of nominations for ministers. The list includes deposed members of the Catalan government, two currently in pre-trial prison (Jordi Turull and Josep Rull) and two (Toni Comín and Lluís Puig) residing in Brussels. Belgium also recently rejected an extradition order against Comín and Puig from Spain due to form “irregularities.”
Since the candidates were named on Saturday May 19, Spain has voiced its discontent with the officials chosen by calling it a “provocation” in public statements and saying it will “analyze” the “viability” of the government.
Spain will use “everything at its disposal” to return to normality
Rajoy further urged Torra to comply with the law because those are “the rules of the game,” as he said, adding that this is one of the fundamental values that the European Union was built on.
The Spanish leader vowed that Spain will use“everything at their disposal” to return to said normality, but demanded that “the others meet their obligations.” “In a country that’s part of the European Union and is one of the most important powers in the world, the law has to be complied with, the law affects us all,” Rajoy emphasized during an act in the Spanish town of Vigo.
Omitted names
This comes after Catalonia’s government gazette (DOGC) published on May 21 only part of the decree regards the new government, omitting the nomination for the ministers chosen by Quim Torra two days prior.
The government gazette is effectively under the control of Rajoy’s executive from Madrid through Article 155, the very constitutional article that sacked Puigdemont’s government and that Torra aims to lift by forming a new cabinet. Indeed, the Spanish government justified its decisions due to "viability problems."