Spanish PM has "all the measures ready" to stop Catalonia's self-determination vote

Barcelona (ACN).- Spain's Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, told the Executive Board of the governing People's Party(PP) on Monday that he has "all the measures ready" to stop the Catalan self-determination vote from happening. However, Rajoy avoided giving details about such measures and disclosing specific plans to block the vote scheduled on the 9^th of November from taking place. The Spanish PM emphasised that his stance on Catalonia's right to self-determination and the organisation of an independence vote has remained unchangeable for the last two years. Rajoy took pride in not having sat around a negotiation table and not having made any concession to the demands shared by between 75% and 80% of the Catalan population regardless of whether they would vote for independence or not, according to all polls published in the last two years. In fact, the PP and the Spanish authorities are totally opposed to such a vote; imposing a restrictive interpretation of the Constitution and using an interpretation of the current legislation to reject any talk to change the current situation and Catalans' right to decide on their own future in a democratic, peaceful and free way. Furthermore, Rajoy has also confirmed that the Spanish Government will immediately appeal the Catalan Law on Consultation Votes, despite that fact that such a bill has not yet been approved.

If the President of the Catalan Government calls for such a vote, the Spanish Government has everything "ready" to stop the vote from happening. Rajoy's words were confirmed on the same day by the Spanish Foreign Affairs Minister, José Manuel García Margallo, by saying "we would be a government if this was not ready".

In the meeting with the party leadership, Rajoy stressed that the unity of Spain will not be broken. However, he did not disclose any measure. The PP leader in Catalonia, Alícia Sánchez-Camacho, stated after the meeting that she was very "satisfied" with Rajoy's statements, although no specific plans were announced. According to her, the PM's words show that "the Rule of Law works and that it has answers for any illegal challenge". She added that Catalonia's law on Consultation Votes and the call to organise the self-determination vote that will be issued by the Catalan President, Artur Mas, are "a fraud".

However, sources from the PP, stated that they do not rule out early elections in Catalonia, which would become a plebiscite, a de facto referendum on independence. On Friday, the PP's 'number 2' had already proposed to form a grand coalition among all the parties opposing independence, which was totally rejected by all the other parties except the Spanish nationalist and populist UPyD, which gets marginal results in Catalonia.