Opposition parties dismiss transitional jurisprudence bill

Monday’s presentation of the law of transitional jurisprudence and foundation of the Republic by the pro-independence coalition of Together for Yes (JxSí) and CUP in the Catalan Parliament left few on the political scene indifferent. While the bill embodies the aspirations of the sovereignty parties in laying down the basis for a Catalan republic, it was roundly rejected by those parties that oppose independence in Catalonia and in Madrid.

One thing capable of bringing Spain’s ruling People’s party and the PSOE opposition together is the specter of an independent Catalonia. No sooner had Together for Yes and CUP announced that the bill will be put to the vote in the Catalan chamber before the October 1 referendum, than Spanish government spokesman, Óscar Puente, announced that the head of the government, president Mariano Rajoy, had already spoken to PSOE leader, Pedro Sánchez. According to Puente, Sánchez’s position was one of “direct rejection of a ruse and a new defiance.”

After Puente reiterated that the referendum will not take place, Spanish government sources rejected the possibility of the bill becoming law, saying “they can announce this norm as many times as they like, but it will never come into effect.” The same sources accused the Catalan executive of surrendering to the “minority, radical and anti-establishment” proposals of the CUP party, and insisted that the Spanish government would continue to respond to the “attempts” by the pro-independence parties to “violate” the constitutional order.