Rajoy makes Justice Minister resign just before launching legal actions against Catalan independence vote

Barcelona (ACN).- The person coordinating the Spanish Government's legal strategy and actions against Catalonia's self-determination consultation vote, which are supposed to be launched at any moment this week or next, has resigned a few hours after an announcement made by the Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy. Spain's PM announced on Tuesday morning that the controversial reform of the Abortion Law, which was the main project of the Justice Minister, Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón, has been put aside because of a lack of "consensus". Rumours about such a decision had been increasing this summer, but the announcement made today was somehow unexpected for its timing. Rajoy's words came in the decisive week that the Catalan Government is expected to call the independence vote – scheduled for the 9^th of November – and the Spanish Executive is expected to fire its legal artillery against it immediately after the call. The Justice Minister, who is in charge of the Spanish Government's Legal Services and the Public Prosecution Office, was precisely the person coordinating these legal actions, which have been ready since early September. However, something has not followed the expected script in the last two days. The Catalan Government has unexpectedly delayed the call of the vote and it might stress in the decree to call the vote that such a democratic initiative be launched to prepare a Constitutional change. This could alter the Spanish Government's initial plans and require some last-minute adjustments to the already-prepared legal actions, which would have to be approved by the Justice Minister. Ruiz-Gallardón has been one of the toughest members of the Spanish Government against Catalonia's self-determination and, in this crucial moment, he resigns. However, in his resignation speech, Ruiz-Gallardón has denied that any calendar change could have an impact on the Spanish Government's strategy and the already-prepared legal actions. In fact, he said that he had already made the decision a few days ago but that he had waited to announce it because he was working on the Catalan situation.

Before starting the most important legal battle so far against Catalonia's self-determination process, the Spanish Prime Minister has made an announcement that has provoked the immediate resignation of his right-hand man leading this crucial battle that could decide Spain's fate. The Justice Minister has been working to prepare a series of legal actions aiming to stop Catalonia's self-determination process and specifically the 9^th of November's consultation vote. Ruiz-Gallardón has been the person designing the legal artillery that the Spanish Government is about to fire, waiting for the Catalan President to ratify the new Law on Consultation Votes and to sign the decree calling for such a vote. However, just when the moment to start the legal battle comes about, Rajoy decides to kill Ruiz-Gallardón's main reform, which provokes his immediate resignation.

According to Ruiz-Gallardón, this has nothing to do with Catalonia's situation and the Catalan Government's decision to delay the call in order to disturb the Spanish Government's strategy. The resigning Justice Minister said that his decision to quit the Cabinet, his seat at the Spanish Parliament and abandoning politics is only related to Rajoy's decision to put aside the reform on the Abortion Law he had been working on for the last 3 years.

If Ruiz-Gallardón's resignation was somehow related to a modification of the Spanish Government's actions to stop the self-determination vote from happening, this would have projected an image of internal quarrels within Rajoy's Cabinet on their most crucial dossier: Catalonia's potential independence from Spain.