Opposition blasts government infighting and threatens legal action if independence push resumes
Socialists and anti-austerity Comuns say cabinet is 'weak' while CUP demands referendum and right-wing unionists call to avoid repeating 2017 events
opposition
Opposition head calls for president to step down and for snap election
Ciutadans party says government only “prioritizes independence” over health, education and dependency
Opposition accuses Sánchez of pro-independence alliances 'against the state'
PP leader Pablo Casado and Ciudadanos' Albert Rivera criticize Pedro Sánchez for avoiding pro-independence issue in his speech to remain president
Opposition rejects decision to close Catalan Parliament until October
Ciutadans accuse pro-independence majority of trying to “silence” them, while Socialists call the delay “nonsense”
‘Social fracture is serious and can get worse,’ says opposition head
Leader of Ciutadans Inés Arrimadas urges President Torra to “stop threatening with illegalities” to achieve independence
‘Remove yellow ribbon from government HQ,’ urges opposition leader
Arrimadas accuses Torra cabinet of governing only for people who show solidarity with jailed and exiled pro-independence officials
Catalan parties react to Puigdemont's speech
The leader in Catalonia of the Spanish ruling party said that "there won't be an independent republic of Catalonia"
Opposition parties dismiss transitional jurisprudence bill
Parties in Catalonia and Madrid against independence roundly reject proposed legislation for founding a Catalan republic calling it a ‘ruse’ that will never be implemented
Spain compelled other governments to oppose Catalonia’s independence
Former Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs, José Manuel García Margallo, admitted that the Spanish Government pressured other governments to give statements against Catalonia’s pro-independence process. “Nobody knows all the favors we owe in exchange for the statements we got,” he said this Wednesday in an interview on Spanish TV. According to Margallo, the normal procedure when a public representative is asked about such a question is to demur, saying it is an “internal matter”. Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, considered the facts “very serious” and urged the former Minister to give further explanations.
Government “surprised” that Spanish Vice President is meeting the opposition before the Catalan executive
The so-called ‘operation dialogue’ launched by the Spanish executive aims for Spain’s executive to have a greater presence in Catalonia. In line with this purpose, Spanish Vice President and recently named Minister for Territorial Administrations, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría, travelled to Barcelona this Wednesday. However, despite having committed to holding a meeting with her Catalan counterpart, Oriol Junqueras, Sáenz de Santamaría hasn’t even made a date for such a meeting. On the other hand, she met first with the opposition’s leader, Inés Arrimadas and with the Catalan Socialists’ leader, Miquel Iceta. The Catalan Government’s spokeswoman, Neus Munté, considered it “surprising” but “congratulated” Saénz de Santamaría for her “initiative” especially after the Spanish executive’s “enormous absence” in this sense. “Confrontation and using the courts have been the only answers so far”, lamented Munté.
‘En Comú Podem’ see themselves in the opposition and dismiss third elections in Spain
Alternative left alliance ‘En Comú Podem’, which won the Spanish Elections in Catalonia this Sunday, aims to be in the opposition in the Spanish Parliament and dismissed the possibility of holding new elections in Spain. The results in the whole of Spain, where the Conservative People’s Party won and obtained 135 MPs in the 350-seat Spanish Parliament, will probably force the parties to reach agreements in order to form government. ‘En Comú Podem’s leader, Xavier Domènech doubted whether Spain could form a “government of change” between the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE) and Alternative left ‘Podemos’, as he considers the other required parties, pro-independence left-wing ERC, Liberal Convergència and the Basque National Party, PNB, to be “not very likely to get involved” and ultimately join this alliance.
First meeting between President Puigdemont and the Leader of the Opposition
New Catalan President Carles Puigdemont and the recently named Leader of the Opposition Inés Arrimadas held this Wednesday their first official meeting. At a press conference directly after the meeting, the Catalan government’s spokeswoman, Neus Munté, expressed her hope that the differences regarding the roadmap towards independence, which is “a priority of the new government”, won’t obstruct “the daily management” of the citizens’ needs. Arrimadas described the meeting as “cordial and full of constructive proposals” but lamented that Puigdemont wouldn’t make “any move” to reform Catalonia’s funding system, one of Ciutadans’ core proposals. “If the government renounces negotiation, we will do so in the Spanish Parliament” she stated.
Law on climate change the first project of Puigdemont’s government
The law will first charge those vehicles emitting more than 160 grams of CO2 per kilometre and in 2020 the bar will be set at a lower level. “This is a law of a country which is committed to the global challenge that humanity is facing” stated the new Catalan Minister for Planning and Sustainability, Josep Rull. The aim is to reduce the level of emissions registered in 2005 by 25% before 2020 and “by 80% or even more” by 2050. Also this Tuesday, the 29 committees in the Catalan chamber for this term of office have been assigned presidents. 15 of them will be led by members of pro-independence cross-party list ‘Junts Pel Sí’, including the Committee for the Constitutive Process. Muriel Casals, former president of the cultural association promoting the Catalan language and culture, Òmnium Cultural, will be head of this committee set up to design the roadmap towards independence.