Catalan minister accuses Spanish president of 'wrapping himself in a flag'

The Interior Minister Miquel Buch accused the Spanish President Pedro Sánchez of "wrapping himself in a flag" instead of effectively fighting the coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking to Catalunya Radio on Sunday morning, Buch accused Sánchez of being "more concerned about taking control of [Catalan] health, police, and transport instead of dealing with the pandemic."

Buch maintained that the Catalan government still had jurisdiction over the Catalan police, the Mossos d'Esquadra, in all aspects that weren’t related to coronavirus, adding, however, that he did not know what the Spanish government would do in the coming days.

He said Sánchez "has not done his job", for example, by confining Madrid, which had registered 86 Covid-19 deaths as of March 13, more than 50% of the 163 deaths across Spain.

The confinement of Igualada and surrounding towns will continue as before because the declaration of a state of alarm across Spain maintains any measures already announced by regional governments.

Sánchez 'ignoring science'

Catalan government spokesperson Meritxell Budó also spoke out against the Spanish president, accusing Sánchez of being "more forceful" with the regions of Spain than with the coronavirus.

In a radio interview with Rac1 on Sunday morning, Budó said Sánchez was "ignoring science and evidence."

She lamented the fact that Sánchez had not heeded the request to confine the whole of Catalonia, and said that they were wasting valuable time in the battle to protect the health of citizens.

Budó criticized the Spanish president for backing "constitutional force" and said that this would not stop the spread of the virus.