Cospedal rejects a constitutional reform to solve “territorial problems”

Madrid (ACN).- The Secretary General of the People’s Party (PP), María Dolores de Cospedal, rejected on Monday a constitutional reform to accommodate the territorial demands coming from Catalonia. “It is not feasible”, she said during a conference in Madrid. The deputy leader of the main Spanish party said that this is not the time for a constitutional reform, despite the fact that Catalonia is pushing for a referendum on independence and many voices inside and outside Spain suggest that a more federal constitution could ease some of the Catalan demands. The so-called “third way”, a more decentralised system for Catalonia within Spain, was rejected by De Cospedal, who warned that some people want “to destroy the first transition” to democracy.

“It is an imposture and irresponsibility without limits. We must not reinvent our country every time that there are new winds of crisis or transformations”, said María Dolores de Cospedal. The Secretary General of the PP admitted that some things need to be reformed in Spain but warned against what she sees as “political and opportunistic” demands.

“It is not feasible, right now, in any way, the proposed reform of the Constitution to solve territorial problems”, argued De Cospedal. The Spanish politician warned during her conference that any constitutional change would need to be accepted by two thirds of the Spanish Congress, and new elections and a referendum would need to follow. Currently, the PP has an overall majority in the Chamber.

De Cospedal also talked about the new Spanish King, Felipe VI. According to her, the monarch should not have “a different role to that stated in the Constitution”. This was a reference to calls to the King coming from Barcelona and elsewhere asking him to mediate between Catalonia and Spain. “The monarch’s mission is to ensure that national sovereignty is respected and to check that the unity of Spain is not put at risk”, she stated.