Puigdemont urges Spanish parties to have the “courage” to call for a referendum in Catalonia

Barcelona (CNA).- Catalan President Carles Puigdemont admitted being frustrated about there not being a government in Madrid “able to engage in the negotiations Catalonia has been seeking”; negotiations which “are now more urgent” given the pro-independence majority in the Parliament. In an article published this Tuesday in ‘The Guardian’, Puigdemont emphasised that Catalonia “is a key player in achieving a stable government in Madrid” and called for the Spanish parties to “summon up the political courage” to agree on a Catalan referendum now, “not six months down the track”. According to Puigdemont, the Spanish parties should treat the Catalan issue “with the seriousness it deserves” and “engage with Catalonia politically” rather than “continue the denial and legal obstructionism of the Rajoy years”.

“The political deadlock in Madrid has introduced a new dynamic directly linked to Catalonia” stated Puigdemont. “Indeed, Catalonia is a key player in achieving a stable government in Madrid” he continued. Spain’s parties must “treat the Catalonia issue with the seriousness it deserves” warned Puigdemont, who added that “it would be much better for Spain, and the whole of Europe, if they could summon up the political courage to do so now and agree on a Catalan referendum, not six months down the track”.

There must be “serious dialogue between Catalonia and the Spanish state on a referendum, on independence, and on how a separation from Spain – if that’s what the Catalan people choose – would be accomplished”. This situation would be “much better than having to continually deal with a government in denial on the issue, and using the Spanish constitutional court to throw obstacles in the way of proper democratic politics in Spain”, he stated.

“For me, the main frustration is not having a government in Madrid able to engage in the negotiations Catalonia has been seeking” stressed Puigdemont. In this vein, he considered it “crucial” to form a government in Madrid “secure enough to engage with Catalonia politically, rather than continue the denial and legal obstructionism of the Rajoy years”. If the main Spanish political parties continue “to duck the issue”, they will be “forced into new elections in June and the best-case scenario would be a new government by September” he warned.

Addressing the situation in Catalonia is “the only available way to avoid instability in Spain for 2016”, stated Puigdemont. To prove it, he referred to alternative left Podemos, whom “made a binding independence referendum a sine qua non for its agreement to join a coalition with the PSOE” which favours “amending the Spanish constitution, but not a referendum in Catalonia”.

Puigdemont also emphasised the concerns that not having a government in Spain yet raises across the EU. “For many the main worry is the lack of stability and certainty in a major EU country still recovering from the recession, at a time when Europe faces a series of serious issues” such as the influx of refugees , the Eurozone crisis and Brexit.