Just as the rest of the world, the Spanish government also didn’t know what to make of Mr. Carles Puigdemont’s speech on Tuesday in the Catalonian parliament. He was going to declare independence but said he would do so later, he signed a declaration of independence together with other Catalan leaders but would not act on it. No one really understood.
Spain is furious with the Catalonian leadership and has now set a deadline of 5 days. Within this period, the leaders of the Catalonian parliament should say yes or no whether they have declared independence.
If they say yes, Spain will invoke article 155 of the Constitution and revoke all powers given to the region, meaning that it will once again be ruled from Madrid rather than from Barcelona.
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Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy accused Mr. Puigdemont of creating "deliberate confusion" and said the Spanish people deserved "certainty".
Mr. Rajoy: "This call, ahead of any of the measures that the government may adopt under Article 155 of our constitution, seeks to offer citizens the clarity and security that a question of such importance requires. There is an urgent need to put an end to the situation that Catalonia is going through, to return it to safety, tranquility and calm and to do that as quickly as possible."
In other words, the Spanish government once again puts the ball back in the Catalonian court, hoping that its people will soon grow tired of this mess.
The uncertainty is certainly weighing, as Barcelona resident, Ms. Maria Rosa Bertran admitted: "This means suffering a longer agony. Indecision and uncertainty is the worst thing that can happen to us."
Some fear that in the end, Spain will indeed send in the army just like in 1934. Back then, there was also a call from Catalonia for independence and the regional President Luis Company's, in the end, did declare a ‘Catalan State’, which finished 10 hours later when he had to surrender to the Spanish army.
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