Catalan separatist parties won an absolute majority of seats in the regional parliamentary elections last Sunday. The bloc Together for Yes (the ruling Democratic Convergence of Catalonia and the Republican Left of Catalonia) will take 62 out of 135 seats in parliament. Their ally, the far left Popular Unity Candidates (CUP) will be represented by 10 deputies
In a record turnout of 76 percent, both separatist movements still fell short of getting 50 percent of the vote, the BBC reports
“The Yes has won, but democracy has also won. And that is very important. Two victories in one,” Catalan regional government head Artur Mas said after the vote
In his turn, CUP leader Antonio Banos has tweeted: “To the Spanish state: with no resentment – goodbye.”
In the words of the Republican Left of Catalonia leader Oriol Junqueras, “we have all the requirements to accomplish this democratic mandate given to us by the Catalonian people.”
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister of Spain, Mariano Rajoy, has said that the proponents of Catalonian independence lost the last elections. “They did not win the majority of votes. This is the reality. I want to calm all Spaniards, all Catalans, and all those who watched the elections from abroad. They have never obeyed the law, and most Catalans do not support them,” Rajoy said
The Day requested some Spanish experts to comment on the results of the Catalonia elections.
“WE WANT TO CREATE CONDITIONS FOR CATALONIA’S INDEPENDENCE”
Francesc de DALMASES, political analyst, Barcelona:
“The Catalan parliament has a majority formed by the bloc Together for Yes and Popular Unity Candidates. They have also said before that they will join forces in favor of the roadmap and try to win independence for Catalonia within 18 months
“Now they need to take steps to put this into practice. The first step will be the president’s address, and then the Catalan parliament should pass an official declaration. Then we will create our own ‘realty’ that will lay the groundwork for a new state.
“However, we should begin negotiating with the Spanish government. There will be general elections in Spain on December 20, and we need to know who will form the next government. If the latter takes a friendly attitude, we will be able to launch a democratic and peaceful dialog.
“But if the Spanish government rejects it, we will turn to the international community and stand by our declaration of independence.
“It would be wrong to compare the Catalonia vote with the Scottish independence referendum. What happened in our country is just an election, which some parties view as a referendum. Our idea is not to complicate relations with Europe but to continue following a democratic way and establish a new state. We hope this will produce a new scenario, which will improve the situation not only in Catalonia, but also throughout Europe, particularly in the south.
“We want to create conditions for Catalonia’s independence, which is our chief goal. To achieve this, our government will be working for 18 months to improve the living standards of the whole Catalan society.”
“THIS SITUATION WAS CAUSED BY THE SPANISH GOVERNMENT’S UNWILLINGNESS TO SPEAK TO CATALANS”
Pilar BONET, correspondent, newspaper El Pais:
“One should differentiate between the number of votes and that of gained seats in parliament. They have the majority in the latter, but those who seek an independent Catalonia gained fewer than 50 percent of the popular votes.
“This situation was partly caused by the Spanish government’s unwillingness to speak to Catalans. They feel cheated and humiliated. Earlier, Catalans made a deal with Madrid on changes in their constitution, but this was not legitimized later. The Constitutional Court of Spain ruled that these changes are unlawful.
“If the Madrid government were more flexible, the situation might be different. But the reality is that a huge mass of people favors Catalonia’s independence. Even though Madrid will not accept the results of these elections, for the Constitution does not allow secession, this vote still should be taken into account.
“One of the arguments for independence of Catalonia is that the latter receives much less from that it gives to the national budget.
“Spain is going to have a long ‘war’ for conquering state institutions. Thank God, Madrid cannot move troops to Catalonia and Spain is in the EU. Yet this country is in for a long period of instability.
“If Catalonia breaks away, it will be eligible for being a European Union member. But some EU top officials have already come out against this. Nevertheless Catalan separatists continue to persuade people that Catalonia will remain part of the European Union.”
