In the on-going battle of wills between Barcelona and Madrid over independence, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has now called for talks about the planned referendum.
The call came after Catalan leader Artur Mas said the referendum would go ahead as scheduled despite a ruling by Spain’s Constitutional Court that such a referendum would be illegal
The Court only agreed last month to consider Madrid’s case against the vote. The process predictably will not be swift but their decision means that the referendum is suspended until a decision is reached.
Catalonia now says it is looking at possible legal arguments to persuade the Constitutional Court to lift that suspension.
Mr Rajoy said the ways out of the situation is through law and dialogue. “I want us to stay together,” he added.
Hundreds of thousands of the 7.5 million Catalonian inhabitants have taken to the streets in recent weeks to demand the referendum.
The population represents 16% of Spain. It has a distinct language and culture and is one of the country’s richest regions, a factor which has led many to complain about funding other parts of the nation.
A number of polls have indicated that the majority of Catalans are in favour of holding a referendum, but that the “yes” and “no” votes are about 50% each.
Comments
I agree with you, only they should make sure that the referendum won't be manipulated like the scottish one - by the way I really wonder there's no uprising in Scotland after discovering how they've been cheated - I guess the spaniards have a bit more fire in their blood...
Perhaps a succesful Catalan, then Basque, then Galician, then (fill it in yourself) ..... breakaway will solve where Gibratar can play their footie.
And being able to forget those twats running the Faro Stadium.
If the Catalans lose then the status quo survives and the legality of the poll is irrelevant. If they win they can declare UDI and tell the Spanish government where to stick Spanish law.