Spanish government to use “all means” to stop Puigdemont taking office from Brussels

The Spanish government will “take all kind of measures and decisions” in order to stop Carles Puigdemont from being sworn in as Catalan president again, says Spanish vice president, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría.

In a radio interview on Thursday, Santamaría warned Puigdemont that it will be “impossible” for him to take office from Brussels, where he has been since the Spanish government dismissed him following a declaration of independence.

Roger Torrent, a pro-independence MP appointed as Catalan Parliament president on Wednesday, will now decide whether to allow Puigdemont’s election at a distance. Santamaria urged Torrent not to force the rules of the chamber, and said that appointing Puigdemont from Brussels would be “as illegal as what has been done up to now.”