Spain: Catalonia Rebels Ignore Spanish Government Ultimatrum: Spain to suspend Catalan autonomy

The Spanish government on Thursday vowed to go ahead with taking direct control of Catalonia after accusing regional President Carles Puigdemont of failing to comply with its ultimatum to clarify whether he had declared independence.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said in a statement that he will convene a cabinet meeting on Saturday to propose a series of measures under the framework of Article 155 of the Constitution — which allows “all measures necessary to compel” a region to abide by the law— and send them to the Senate for approval.

“The Spanish government has noted … the refusal of the president of the Generalitat of Catalonia [the regional executive] to comply with the requirement … to report in a clear and precise way if any authority of Catalonia had proceeded to declare independence,” the statement said.

Read more: Spain to suspend Catalan autonomy – POLITICO

Spain-Catalonia: Puigdemont fails to clarify Catalan independence confusion

Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont has not given a clear answer on whether he has declared independence for the Spanish region.

The Catalan government has tweeted an English version of Puigdemont’s letter to Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy.

Puigdemont offers to meet him as soon as possible to discuss the controversy, but fails to give a yes or no response on independence. He calls for an end to the “repression” of the Catalan people and their government, citing charges against Catalan demonstrators and the chief of the Catalan police.

He also calls for a meeeting with Rajoy “as soon as possible” to find a solution.

Madrid has responded, the Spanish premier “deeply” regretting Puigdemont’s failure to clarify his stance.

Spain’s central government had set a deadline of 10am on Monday for Puigdemont to give a “yes” or “no” answer – and until Thursday to change his mind should the reply be affirmative. Madrid has threatened to suspend Catalonia’s autonomy under Article 155 of the Spanish constitution, if independence is declared.

In addition to the letter, Carles Puigdemont is said to have included documents including a copy of the breakaway Referendum Law that his minority government rammed through the regional parliament with help from its far-left ally CUP.

The move bypassed ordinary parliamentary procedure, prompting an opposition walkout.

Read more:Puigdemont fails to clarify Catalan independence confusion | Euronews

Spain gives Catalan leader eight days to drop independence-by Blanca Rodríguez, Sonya Dowsett

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Wednesday gave the Catalan government eight days to drop an independence bid, failing which he would suspend the Catalonia’s political autonomy and rule the region directly.

His move could deepen the confrontation between Madrid and the northeastern region but also signals a way out of Spain’s biggest political crisis since a failed military coup in 1981. 

Rajoy would probably call a snap regional election after activating Article 155 of the constitution that would allow him to sack the Catalan regional government. 

“The cabinet has agreed this morning to formally request the Catalan government to confirm whether it has declared the independence of Catalonia, regardless of the deliberate confusion created over its implementation,” Rajoy said in a televised address after a cabinet meeting called to consider the government’s response. 

He later told Spain’s parliament the Catalan government had until Monday, Oct. 16 at 0800 GMT to answer. If Puigdemont was to confirm he did declare independence, he would be given an additional three days to rectify it, until Thursday, Oct. 19 at 0800 GMT. Failing this, Article 155 would be triggered. 

It is not yet clear if the Catalan government will answer the requirement but it now faces a conundrum, analysts say. 

Read more: Spain gives Catalan leader eight days to drop independence

Spain-Catalonia: 'The door is open for dialogue with Madrid,' says Carles Puigdemont

Carles Puigdemont is president of Spain’s Catalonia region. As national authorities crack down on the region’s preparations for an October 1 independence referendum that Madrid says is illegal, Puigdemont has accused the national government of adopting a “totalitarian attitude”.

Puigdemont spoke with FRANCE 24’s Caroline de Camaret and RFI’s Sophie Malibeaux about the political crisis with Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s government and the potential consequences independence would have on Catalonia’s relationship with the European Union.

Asked why he won’t bow to pressure and call off the referendum, the Catalan leader told FRANCE 24 that regional elections provided the mandate to hold this vote. “This is not something we can cancel. We cannot say no to what has already been approved by the citizens. They decided on this through the ballot box,” Puigdemont said from Barcelona.

Read more: 'The door is open for dialogue with Madrid,' says Carles Puigdemont - France 24

Catalonia: Spanish court suspends Catalonia's independence vote - by Albert Gea

The constitutional court in Spain has suspended the call for a referendum on Catalonia's independence after agreeing to review an appeal by central authorities in Madrid.

The move was widely expected after Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy announced that the government would challenge both a controversial law meant to legitimize the independence vote and a decree signed on Wednesday by the Catalan regional government summoning voters for the October 1 ballot.

On Wednesday, Catalonia's regional parliament, which is controlled by separatists, voted to push ahead with the referendum in the wealthy northeastern region, sparking the country's deepest political crisis in 40 years.

The central government called the move an attack against Spain's and Catalonia's institutional order.
"That's something that the government and the courts can't allow," Rajoy said in a televised address on Thursday after a meeting of his cabinet.

Read more: Spanish court suspends Catalonia's independence vote | Spain News | Al Jazeera

Spain's Socialists vote to allow Rajoy minority government

The opposition Socialists in Spain have effectively voted to allow the conservatives under Mariano Rajoy to rule as a minority government.

Party leaders decided by a majority at their meeting in Madrid to abstain when Mr Rajoy puts his Popular Party (PP) government to a vote in parliament.

The country had faced the prospect of a third general election inside a year.

But the Socialists forced out their leader, Pedro Sanchez, earlier this month after he rejected abstention.

Mr Rajoy has led a caretaker administration since losing his overall majority in an election last December. A repeat election in June failed to end the impasse but strengthened his hand. 

Read more: Spain's Socialists vote to allow Rajoy minority government - BBC News

Spian: Spanish Socialists prepare to end political logjam - by Tobias Buck

After 10 months of political deadlock and drift in Spain, it all comes down to this: a committee of some 300 officials from the Socialist party who will meet this Sunday to decide whether the country should have a government or not.

The choice facing the members of the PSOE’s federal committee is stark, and will carry a heavy political price either way. But if party insiders and analysts are right, the Socialists are preparing the ground for a last-minute U-turn that would allow the formation of a minority conservative government.

Barring a late surprise,the committee is expected to instruct the party’s members of parliament to abstain in a crucial vote on Mariano Rajoy’s candidacy for a second term as prime minister. That would be enough to secure another mandate for the veteran centre-right leader and draw a line under Spain’s political deadlock.

Read more: Spanish Socialists prepare to end political logjam

Spain’s PM Rajoy warns of possible Podemos victory in Sunday’s elections

Spain’s acting conservative Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has warned that the far-left Unidos Podemos (“United We Can”) alliance could win this weekend’s general elections that may well shake up the country’s political system.

The anti-austerity group has boosted its support by striking a deal with the United Left, once part of the communist party.

According to opinion polls Podemos is consolidating its position as the country’s second biggest political force, just three points behind the ruling conservatives.

“We are very close to defeating the Popular Party in the elections. We are very close. And they are very worried about it for what it means,” Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias told a gathering of supporters.

Read more: Spain’s PM Rajoy warns of possible Podemos victory in Sunday’s elections | euronews, world news

Spain: Citizens take power in Spain’s largest cities as a political revolution sweeps the country

“We are servants of the people of Madrid”, said Carmena. “We are here because they have chosen us to represent them. We cannot forget it.We are at their service. Therefore I would insist and remember that we want to listen as well as govern”.

Pablo Iglesias, the leader of the anti-austerity anti-corruption Podemos party was there to the witness the event. He can claim much of the credit for the changes taking place across the country.

The victory for the left wing citizens’ alliance in the Spanish capital is the fall out from the dismal ruling right-wing Partido Popular results in the local and regional elections last month.

Similar citizen-driven left-wing alliances are now also in power in Barcelona and Valencia.
What amounts to a political revolution in Spain can be traced back to the ‘indignados’ protests against austerity measures introduced by the PP Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy in 2011.

He now has some serious thinking to do before the parliamentary elections due in November.

Read more: Citizens take power in Spain’s largest cities as a political revolution sweeps the country | euronews, world news

Spain to Vote for Cuts on Sunday as Polls See Conservative Rajoy Win - Angeline Benoit

Spaniards, already reeling from the austerity measures that followed the worst recession in 60 years, are poised to vote for more economic pain on Nov. 20.

Voters may hand the opposition People’s Party the largest majority any party has won since 1982, polls indicate. PP leader Mariano Rajoy has promised “restraint and rigor” to shrink the euro area’s third-largest deficit by about a third to 4.4 percent of gross domestic product next year.

“We have to put up with this so the situation improves,” said Goyi Bohoyo, a 61 year-old widow in Madrid whose pension is frozen as part of Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero’s May 2010 budget-cuts package. “We are used to worse austerity. Spain was much poorer before the democracy was born and we don’t want to go back by 40 years.”

For more: Spain to Vote for Cuts as Polls See Rajoy Win - Bloomberg

Spain's opposition leader vows tough measures - by Virginie Grognou

AFP reports that the leader of Spain's main opposition conservative party on Saturday vowed a rigorous program to get the country out of its economic crisis if elected in legislative elections in November.

Popular Party leader Mariano Rajoy, the front-runner in the election, set out the broad lines of his policy in a speech closing his party's annual convention in Malaga, southern Spain.

He paid particular attention to the country's record unemployment levels, running at 20.89 percent of the workforce, and promised to make job creation a priority if elected.

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