Radical separatists open door to new Catalan president
CGTN
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A far-left Catalan party has vowed to abstain from a vote scheduled for Monday on a new president for the region, clearing the way for a pro-independence candidate to be elected and end the emergency direct rule imposed by Madrid in last year's political crisis.
The radical pro-independence CUP party said in a statement that it would abstain from an investiture vote in the regional parliament on Monday. The absence of its four parliamentary votes should leave pro-independence candidate Quim Torra, a Junts per Catalonia MP, with the simple majority needed to be elected regional president.
Catalan crisis
What's going on in Catalonia? Catalonia is Spain's richest and most populous region, with 7.5 million people. It has its own distinct language and cultural traditions. Calls have increased in recent years for it to have more control over its finances, with some demanding outright independence.
Why did Spain impose direct rule? Separatist leaders declared Catalonia independent last October after an outlawed independence referendum. That prompted Madrid to impose direct rule and led to months of political limbo.
Why has it taken so long to elect a president? Separatist parties won regional elections in December, but every leadership candidate picked by the separatist camp since has fallen flat. Previous efforts to elect two separatists in jail awaiting trial and fugitive former regional president Carles Puigdemont have failed.
Analysts warned the road ahead would be a rocky one, however, with politicians and voters split on the merits of trying to leave Spain. If a new government isn't formed by May 22, fresh elections will be called.
Second attempt
The Catalan regional assembly failed to elect Torra in an initial vote requiring an absolute majority on Saturday, in which the CUP also abstained. In the second round vote scheduled for Monday, only a simple majority will be required so Torra is expected to win.
Junts per Catalonia MP and presidential candidate Quim Torra delivers a speech during a session at the Catalan parliament in Barcelona, Spain, May 12, 2018. /VCG Photo
Junts per Catalonia MP and presidential candidate Quim Torra delivers a speech during a session at the Catalan parliament in Barcelona, Spain, May 12, 2018. /VCG Photo
The 55-year-old was handpicked as a candidate by deposed leader Carles Puigdemont, who is in exile in Germany and faces jail on rebellion charges for last year's secession bid if he returns to Spain.
In an interview on Saturday with Italian daily La Stampa, Puigdemont said Torra, as his designated successor, "takes power in provisional conditions and he is aware of that. From October 27, he will be able to call new elections."
Crisis not over?
Torra gave a combative speech during Saturday's debate. He told parliament he was "working tirelessly for the Catalan republic" and signaled that the secession crisis is far from over, even if Catalonia does finally get a government.
Torra also lambasted European institutions for their "unacceptable silence" over the Catalan crisis, and said he was ready to talk "without conditions" with the government of Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.
Rajoy's government and the Spanish courts have declared secession illegal and vowed to block it. Rajoy has warned that constitutional direct rule "could be used again if necessary," if the next regional leadership did not respect the law.
Problems ahead?
Torra faces divisions within the separatist camp, composed of the CUP, the left-wing ERC party and Puigdemont's Junts per Catalonia grouping, Antonio Barroso, deputy research director at Teneo Intelligence, told AFP.
Leader of "Ciudadanos" Ines Arrimadas during the parliamentary session debating the investiture of Quim Torra as the new president of Catalonia in Barcelona, May 12, 2018. /VCG Photo
Leader of "Ciudadanos" Ines Arrimadas during the parliamentary session debating the investiture of Quim Torra as the new president of Catalonia in Barcelona, May 12, 2018. /VCG Photo
Barroso said the ERC wants a moderate approach to avoid a Madrid clampdown and to play a longer independence game.
"In contrast, Puigdemont's strategy is to continue using every opportunity... to continue challenging the Spanish authorities and keep the secessionist momentum alive."
Ines Arrimadas, leader of the centrist, unionist Ciudadanos party, told Torra on Saturday: "I don't know if you will be president of the regional government, but you will never be the one of all Catalans."
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