‘Social fracture is serious and can get worse,’ says opposition head

The leader of the opposition, Inés Arrimadas, insisted on Wednesday that there is a “serious social fracture” in Catalonia. In an interview with Catalan public radio, she warned that the situation could “get worse, to a level of conflict which cannot even be imagined.” Yet she admitted she would not say Catalonia is “on the verge of a civil confrontation.” This is what the Spanish foreign affairs minister, Josep Borrell, said last weekend in another interview. His remarks sparked some controversy, and even Arrimadas, who painted a gloomy picture for the future of the country, said that she would not “put it this way.”

The also leader of unionist Ciutadans party said that Catalonia’s society is “broken” and placed the blame wholly on its current and former governments. “What has created an evident social conflict is the violation of citizens’ rights due to the breaking of the law,” she said referring to the holding of the referendum and the declaration of independence. Yet the Catalan cabinet believes that it is Spain which is violating civil rights with the police violence on October 1, various effects of direct rule and the blocking of some MPs' appointments as cabinet members. Because of that, the government has opened an office for civil and political rights.  

During the interview, Arrimadas urged the Catalan president, Quim Torra, to “bring society together” and said that hanging a banner in the government HQ in solidarity with the leaders in jail and abroad “does not represent everyone.” She has in fact refused to meet the Catalan leader until the banner is removed. On Wednesday, the leader of Ciutadans said that there are other reasons behind her decision. “They need to stop threatening with unilaterality and illegalities,” she said.