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Saturday, December 30, 2017
Spain and Catalonia
Spanish PM defends handling of Catalan crisis after election blow
Mariano Rajoy calls for dialogue and cooperation, after deposed Catalan leader offers to meet him but not in Spain
Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy gives a press conference at La Moncloa Palace in Madrid.
Photograph: Oscar Del Pozo/AFP/Getty Images
Spain’s prime minister has defended his handling of the Catalan
crisis after the snap election he called in an attempt to settle the
secessionist challenge resulted in pro-independence parties holding on
to their absolute majority in parliament. Speaking the day after the three Catalan separatist parties won a
total of 70 seats in the 135-seat regional parliament, Mariano Rajoy
stood by his strategy of taking control of the region in response to an illegal independence referendum and subsequent declaration of independence. Asked whether he accepted responsibility for the disastrous poll
showing of his conservative People’s party, whose presence in the
Catalan parliament was reduced from 11 seats to three, Rajoy replied:
“The prime minister accepts responsibility for anything that happens to
the People’s party, just as all members of the People’s party across Spain do.” He shrugged off suggestions that his use of article 155 of the
Spanish constitution to suspend Catalan autonomy had proved costly and
counterproductive. “I think article 155 was applied as it needed to be,” he said. “It
was not applied when the Catalan government took the first of its
decisions that were against the law. We were prudent. It was applied
with the agreement of an enormous majority in the senate and it was
applied intelligently.”
He pointed out that the centre-right Citizens party, which strongly
supported his actions, won the largest share of the Catalan vote and the
greatest number of seats.
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“The
negative thing about these results, from my point of view, is that
those of us who wanted change haven’t won enough seats to bring that to a
successful conclusion,” he said at a press conference in Madrid. He said the separatist bloc had lost two seats since the last
regional election and had taken a combined 47.6% of the vote, and thus
could not claim to represent all Catalans. “Yesterday’s results also make it plain that no one can speak for
Catalonia who doesn’t include all of Catalonia,” Rajoy said. “What’s
clear after the vote is that Catalonia is not monolithic; Catalonia is plural and we all need to nurture that plurality as a virtue and a source or riches.” With speculation mounting that Together for Catalonia, the party of the deposed Catalan president, Carles Puigdemont,
will attempt to reassemble its previous coalition with the Catalan
Republican Left party (ERC) and the anti-capitalist Popular Unity
Candidacy, Rajoy called for a new direction in Catalan politics. “Elections always offer the possibility of a new democratic
beginning, an opportunity to embark on a new phase,” he said. “I trust
that from now, Catalonia will enter a phase based on dialogue and not
confrontation, in cooperation and not imposition, in plurality and not
unilateralism.”
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He
said the Spanish government would be prepared to collaborate with any
Catalan government that observed the law and worked to restore
stability, security and social harmony to the region. “Without respect for the law, and without a responsible Catalan
government that respects it, it won’t be possible to guarantee security
and certainty,” he said. Earlier on Friday, Puigdemont, who fled to Brussels at the end of
October, said he was ready to meet Rajoy to find a way out of the
crisis, but stipulated that the meeting could not take place in Spain,
where he faces arrest on possible charges of sedition, rebellion and
misuse of public funds. “I am willing to meet Mr Rajoy in Brussels or in any other location
in the EU, so long as it is not in the Spanish state, for obvious
reasons,” he said. “Catalonia wants to be an independent state, but the
next step is to talk with Mariano Rajoy.” Calling the election results a “slap in the face” for Rajoy,
Puigdemont said: “We must completely change the recipe because it
doesn’t work any more.” He said Rajoy’s strategy of taking control of the region to try to
head off the independence movement had failed. “All I ask is that he
listens to us,” he said. “We have the right to restore that which the
Spanish government changed so abruptly.” Rajoy gave short shrift to Puigdemont’s offer, pointedly saying the
leader he should meet was Inés Arrimadas, of the Catalan Citizens party,
which won 37 seats and 25.4% of the vote. “The person I need to sit down with is the person who won the election and that’s Arrimadas,” he said. He refused to speculate on whether Puigdemont’s legal situation could
complicate his return to the Catalan presidency, saying it was a matter
for the courts. Madrid’s direct rule over Catalonia is due to expire when a new
Catalan government is formed. Pressed on whether article 155 could be
used if the next regional administration pushed on with a unilateral
quest for independence, Rajoy said he would not focus on the “worst
possible situation” but added that the law had to be obeyed. Despite the political upheaval, Barcelona was calm on Friday morning,
with people finishing off their Christmas shopping or sitting glued to
the TV to find out how they had fared in the annual Christmas lottery,
El Gordo. The coming weeks will see a return to the politicking as coalition
talks begin, Puigdemont and his allies seek a return to power and the
Spanish government looks on and weighs up its options.
Betty MacDonald Fan Club, founded by Wolfgang Hampel, has members in 40 countries.
Wolfgang Hampel, author of Betty MacDonald biography interviewed Betty MacDonald's family and friends. His Interviews have been published on CD and DVD by Betty MacDonald Fan Club. If you are interested in the Betty MacDonald Biography or the Betty MacDonald Interviews send us a mail, please.
Several original Interviews with Betty MacDonald are available.
We are also organizing international Betty MacDonald Fan Club Events for example, Betty MacDonald Fan Club Eurovision Song Contest Meetings in Oslo and Düsseldorf, Royal Wedding Betty MacDonald Fan Club Event in Stockholm and Betty MacDonald Fan Club Fifa Worldcup Conferences in South Africa and Germany.
Betty MacDonald Fan Club Honour Members are Monica Sone, author of Nisei Daughter and described as Kimi in Betty MacDonald's The Plague and I, Betty MacDonald's nephew, artist and writer Darsie Beck, Betty MacDonald fans and beloved authors and artists Gwen Grant, Letizia Mancino, Perry Woodfin, Traci Tyne Hilton, Tatjana Geßler, music producer Bernd Kunze, musician Thomas Bödigheimer, translater Mary Holmes and Mr. Tigerli.
