Committee to investigate direct rule to be first presidential act, says candidate Torra

The candidate for Catalan president, Quim Torra, is determined to look investigate what effect the months in which the Spanish government has been directly in charge of Catalonia has had on the country. In his first interview after being officially nominated on Friday as presidential candidate, he announced that his first measure as president would be “launching a committee to investigate the consequences of direct rule.” He added that this will be part of an “emergency plan” to “both analyse what happened these past months [with direct rule] and towards restoration [of self-government].”

Among the reasons behind launching this plan are the exceptional circumstances in which Catalonia currently finds itself. “We're not only speaking about a political crisis, but a humanitarian one, too. We have people in prison and in exile, this isn't happening in any European country around us,” he said.

Meetings with Rajoy and Juncker

Quim Torra also said that in his investiture speech on Saturday, ‘dialogue’ will be a word used many times, but he will go a step further. “I will request a meeting not only with Mariano Rajoy, whenever he wants, but also with Mr. Juncker[European Commission president].” During his interview, hosted by Catalan public TV, he said that Catalonia has been waiting for years “if not centuries” for Spanish authorities to sit at the negotiating table.