‘Direct rule should not have been lifted,’ says leader of opposition

The main unionist party in Catalonia, Ciutadans, believes that direct rule should still be in force in the country. Its leader, Inés Arrimadas, said on Wednesday that suspension of self-rule “should not have been lifted” in an interview on Spanish public televsion (TVE). Among the reasons she gave were some remarks the Catalan president made on Monday over the need to create “another October 1 [date of the independence referendum] in order to implement the Republic.” This, for Arrimadas, is evidence that Torra’s cabinet is “violating” the rights of Catalans.

She also criticized the new Spanish president, Pedro Sánchez, for “saying that nothing is happening and everything is normalized” in Catalonia. “What is happening in Catalonia is still very serious,” she claimed. The Ciutadans leader in the country also expressed concerns over the parliamentary motion put forward by the far-left CUP party to reaffirm a 2015 text stating that the road to independence had started. The chamber bureau brought it to the floor on Tuesday, although the parliament lawyers suggested not to do it.