pp

The Spanish People's Party promoted a resolution this Wednesday during the European People's Party (EPP) Statutory Congress in Madrid to guarantee that the party won't recognise the legality of secessionist processes in EU. "Any self-proclaimed sovereignty process aimed at unilaterally declaring the secession of territories forming part of Member States is beyond the realms of legality and, therefore, will not be recognized as legal by the other Member States" reads the text. The resolution was approved by simple majority and all 16 MEPs from Bavaria's Christian Social Union (CSU) voted against the resolution. "We support a position which is balanced between autonomies' rights and territories' integrity" stated CSU's spokesman at the EPP meeting, Reinhold Bocklet. "We don't like to be involved in Spain's internal problems" he concluded. Other groups also voted against the resolutions and there were many abstentions, in a Statutory Congress that was attended by 14 Heads of Member States.    

The Spanish Senate approved this Thursday the reform of the Spanish Constitutional Court (TC) Law to be able to fine and suspend from office those public servants, politicians and authorities who don’t comply with its rulings. The reform proposal was announced a month ago by the People's Party (PP) leader in Catalonia, Xavier García Albiol, and was approved as a matter of urgency. Albiol stated that this amendment to the Constitutional Law will work as a barrier to dissuade “anybody from declaring Catalonia’s independence”. According to the Spanish executive, the new law will "guarantee" that the TC stops "those who want to break Spain" from doing so. The entire opposition has described the reform as "an electoral act" and accused the PP of "manipulating the Spanish justice system with political motivations". The reform was approved with 143 votes in favour, 80 against and 1 abstention and will become effective in the following days, once it is published in Spain's Official Journal (BOE). 

Nearly 4,000 Spanish unity supporters and extreme-right forces gathered this Monday in Barcelona’s ‘Plaça de Catalunya’to celebrate Spain’s National Day. Although this time neither the Spanish People’s Party (PP) nor anti-Catalan nationalism Ciutadans confirmed their attendance, the PP’s leader in Catalonia, Xavier Garcia Albiol, in the end took part in the rally, together with other PP members. With the slogan ‘Barcelona, capital city of Spanishness’, members of Falange –the fascist party of Franco, which is still legal in today’s Spain, groups opposing Catalonia’s independence and retired soldiers displayed Spanish flags, shouted ‘Catalonia is Spain’ and burnt pro-independence flags in the centre of the square. Spain’s National Day commemorates the day Columbus landed in America, in 1492. In Madrid there is a big army exhibition but in the last years the day has been regarded as opposition to Catalonia’s push for independence and other regions of Spain’s exaltation of Spanish nationalism and the denial of other regions autonomy, especially Catalonia and Basque Country.   

The Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy offered “dialogue and negotiation” to the new Catalan government that would form after the 27-S elections, but warned that this “loyalty” would be subject to legality and “always within the law”. He emphasised that if the Catalan authorities “are planning to break the law and make declarations that contradict the Spanish Constitution and the Catalan Statute of Autonomy” Spain will fulfil its duty and make sure that “the law is adhered to”. Meanwhile, former Spanish Prime Minister José María Aznar has blamed Rajoy for leading the PP into “the worst possible scenario”. In a communicate published through the FAES foundation, the PP’s think tank over which he presides, Aznar stated that the PP “can’t ignore” the “the fifth warning” that Catalans have sent to the party.

EC clarified this Wednesday that Brussels didn’t authorise any official answer regarding a hypothetical Unilateral Declaration of Independence in Catalonia. This clarification arrives after the confusion surrounding the two different answers in English and in Spanish given to the same question from PP Member of the European Parliament Santiago Fisas. “The English version is the one agreed to by President Juncker” stated EC spokeswoman Natasha Bertaud. The answer said “it is not for the Commission to express a position on questions of internal organisation related to the constitutional arrangements of a particular Member State”. The Spanish version stated that “the determination of the territory of a Member State is established by its National Constitution and not by an autonomous parliament’s decision contrary to that Constitution”. The Catalan Government called for an enquiry on the alleged manipulation and defined the Spanish text as “extremely disturbing”.

In the last Catalan elections, in 2012, the PPC got their best results ever, increasing from 18 to 19 seats in the 135-seat Catalan Parliament. The PP was already ruling the Spanish government by that time and its politics regarding Catalonia’s sovereignty were harsh and recentralising. For the upcoming 27-S elections the PPC has changed its candidate: Xavier García Albiol, former mayor of Badalona, the third city in Catalonia, substitutes Alicia Sánchez Camacho. Albiol represents the more extreme faction of the PPC and he has been accused of being xenophobic by his political opponents. He is openly against the independence of Catalonia: he thinks the process is “a romantic adventure led by Artur Mas” and he aims to stand up for those “millions of Catalans who don’t want to stop being Spanish”.

Although the exact date is not yet clear, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has assured that he will hold Spanish elections “in December”, “once the general budget for next year is approved” as it “creates certainty and stability”, he added. In an interview with Cadena Cope Radio this Thursday, Rajoy also admitted that in the event that the conservative People’s Party, which he leads, does not gain an absolute majority in the upcoming elections it would be necessary “to find this majority with other parties”. Nevertheless, he highlighted that since 1977 it has always been the party that topped the polls which has ruled the Spanish Executive afterwards. The Spanish elections will be held after the 27-S Catalan elections and its result may influence the approach of the different parties and their proposals regarding Catalonia.

The Catalan President, Artur Mas, recognised that he is the target of the law reform that the conservative People’s Party (PP) announced on Tuesday, which he described as a threat to the rule of law. The project aims at the Court being able to suspend or fine politicians who disobey Constitutional Court rulings. According to the PP, it is unconstitutional to ask Catalans if they want to separate from Spain, let alone to declare independence. Mas stated that the PP “wants to destroy the rule of law” with this decision that he regarded as an old-fashioned way of doing politics more proper of “the Inquisition” than of a democratic country. President Mas will appear before the Parliament this afternoon to defend his decision to call elections on the 27th of September. The Catalan President will answer questions from members of parliament about the poll, which pro-independence groups consider as a ‘de facto’ referendum on independence. The PP has also warned that it will ask Mas about the Spanish Guardia Civil search that took place last week in the headquarters of his party CDC and the President’s party Foundation CatDem.

The candidate for the conservative People's Party (PP) in the upcoming Catalan elections, Xavier García Albiol, presented on Tuesday a proposal to reform the Spanish Constitutional Court (TC) Law and make sure that its rulings are adhered to by civil servants and politicians. García Albiol admitted that the plan is especially designed to stop Catalan President Artur Mas’ push for independence, which unionists say is unconstitutional. “It’s a clear message to those who want to break Catalonia away from the rest of Spain: the joke is over”, he warned. The reform will be passed urgently by the Spanish Parliament this month, and will set in place the mechanisms and resources needed to take action against those who don’t obey the Constitutional Court’s decisions. Civil servants or politicians that ignore rulings may face fines or even suspension from office. The Catalan Government spokeswoman described the TC’s reform plan as a decision taken because of the election on the 27^th of September, and regretted that it only adds more “repression, threats and fear” to the political debate.

The Catalan Minister for the Presidency, Francesc Homs, has stated that they are "sceptical" about the constitutional reform that the Spanish Prime Minister and leader of the People's Party (PP), Mariano Rajoy, is starting to consider. The Spanish Justice Minister, Rafael Català, said 10 days ago that his department would "study a constitutional reform" which would not make any concession to Catalonia's demands. For the last 3 years, Rajoy and the PP have been unilaterally blocking any attempt to launch a constitutional reform debate. Now, with Catalonia's independence being a distinct possibility if pro-independence parties win the forthcoming 'de facto' referendum scheduled for 27 September, the Spanish Government has started to say it would consider a limited reform, particularly to strengthen its own powers. This Monday, the Catalan President's 'right-hand man', Frances Homs, said that they will not even consider such a constitutional reform if it does not include Catalonia's right to self-determination.

The Spanish Minister of Justice, Rafael Català, proposed this week "to study a constitutional reform" that is very far from making any concession to Catalan claims and meet them halfway. In fact, it seems that the Spanish Government's real intentions are to consolidate the recentralisation of powers and cultural homogenisation undertaken in the last few years that have trimmed Catalonia's self-rule and attacked Catalan culture and language. The Spanish Justice Minister stated this week that he is ready to discuss a limited reform of Spain's Constitution that would not affect its core aspects – such as Spain's territorial model – and which would apparently only address secondary matters, such as the prevalence of men over women in the Crown's succession or the definition of the Spanish Government's exclusive powers. However, the aim is to put an end to the decentralisation trend that started in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

The conservative People's Party – which runs the Spanish Government – has chosen Xavier García Albiol, whose statements have been called xenophobic by many, to top its candidature for the next Catalan Parliament elections and run for President of the Catalan Government. García Albiol, who was Mayor of Badalona between 2011 and 2015, will replace the leader of the PP's Catalan branch, Alícia Sánchez-Camacho, who is currently involved in a dirty political espionage case. A few weeks ago it was said that the PP would stick with Sánchez-Camacho to run in the next Catalan Elections, scheduled for 27 September and likely to be transformed into a 'de facto' plebiscite on independence from Spain. However, after the rest of the main parties chose new faces to top their candidatures, the PP is doing the same and has picked García Albiol, who lost Badalona's mayoral office in May, despite being the most voted candidate, as he was unable to achieve an absolute majority.

Ada Colau, who leads the alternative left and green coalition Barcelona en Comú, is very likely to become the Catalan capital's next Mayor, with there not being enough ground on which to build an alternative majority. Colau won Sunday’s elections by obtaining 11 seats in the 41-seat City Council, just 1 seat more than the incumbent Mayor from the centre-right pro-Catalan State Coalition CiU, Xavier Trias. In the last days, the People's Party – which runs the Spanish Government – and some economic powers have been pressuring for the building of an alternative majority led by Trias. However, the essential parties involved do not support the idea. In order to facilitate her election, Colau has cleared up any doubt surrounding her fully supporting the continuing of the Mobile World Congress, the world's main event of the mobile phone-related industries, which will take place each year in Barcelona until 2018. Colau has validated the offer prepared by Trias' team to extend the organisation of the congress until at least 2023.

The most likely future Mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau, has held a press conference the day after election night, in which her alternative left, green and pro-self-determination coalition Barcelona en Comú became the most-voted party in the Catalan capital, obtaining 11 seats, far from the 21-seat absolute majority. Colau stated that she would “start a round of talks” with the other left-wing parties to look for government agreements as of this Monday. She will contact the social-democrat Catalan independence party ERC (5 seats), the Catalan Socialist Party (4 seats) and the radical independence and alternative left-wing party CUP (3 seats). However, she did not rule out the possibility of reaching specific agreements with other parties on some important issues. She also highlighted her commitment to Catalonia’s right to self-determination. In addition, Colau also accused the current Mayor from the centre-right pro-Catalan State coalition CiU, Xavier Trias, of signing last-minute contracts before leaving office.

The municipal elections in Catalonia have resulted in five major highlights. First of all, the overall victory of left-wing parties, in a context of a gradual economic recovery after 7 years of economic crisis, with high unemployment levels, lower salaries and corruption scandals. However, the centre-right pro-Catalan State coalition CiU is still the vost voted party throughout Catalonia, but losing support. Secondly, parties clearly supporting Catalonia's self-determination process significantly increase their representation and electoral support, while those opposing Catalonia's self-determination lose both representatives and votes across the board. Thirdly, there has been a major change in the Catalan capital's City Council, with alternative-left and green coalition Barcelona en Comú overtaking the CiU by a close margin, which runs the Catalan Government. Four, except for Barcelona, the governing parties in the main Catalan town halls resist, although almost all of them have their support reduced. Finally, the main traditional parties register significant loss of support while secondary parties improve their results and enter many city councils for the first time. Two parties enter a number of town halls for the first time: anti-Catalan nationalism party Ciutadans (C's) and radical independence and alternative left party CUP.