His election shows that Puigdemont’s strategy of confrontation with the Spanish state has prevailed over the more moderate voices within the independence camp in Catalonia. That will likely mean more attacks on Spain, with the Catalans portraying it as an authoritarian state, especially when the trials of pro-independence leaders get started. [...]
The Catalan crisis is taking its toll on the popularity of the prime minister and his Popular Party and feeding its liberal rival Ciudadanos, which many polls now put in the lead. Albert Rivera’s party is now calling for Madrid to continue with direct rule over Catalonia, an attempt to portray Rajoy as too soft on the nationalists. [...]
While both sides have called for dialogue, they mean different things by that. Catalan secessionists have refused to take part in a national process looking to reform the territorial structure of the country or in a conference on the financial system of the regions. Rajoy, meanwhile, refuses to engage in talks with the government in Barcelona that go beyond the framework of the country’s constitution. [...]
Torra mentioned the creation of a “Council of the Republic” — a body that Puigdemont wants to lead from the Belgian town of Waterloo, if German courts allow him to — which will seek to gain international support for the independence process. The new Catalan chief also mentioned an “Assembly of Elected Officials,” an unofficial chamber of pro-independence politicians who would take charge of the more defiant actions against the Spanish government.
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