IT WAS political theatre—epic for some, farce for others and tragic for many more. By 70 votes out of 135, and with the opposition having walked out, the Catalan parliament in Barcelona voted today, October 27th, to declare independence and constitute Catalonia as a republic. Minutes later in Madrid, the Senate overwhelmingly approved the government’s request to exercise its constitutional power to dismiss the Catalan regional government, impose direct rule and call a fresh regional election within six months.
Until almost the last minute it appeared that this head-on clash could be avoided. On October 26th officials in Madrid and Barcelona had discussed a deal whereby, if Carles Puigdemont, the Catalan president, himself called a fresh election, the government would suspend its plans for direct rule. Amid much confusion, the deal was aborted because of the mistrust between the two administrations and because Mr Puigdemont apparently feared being denounced as a traitor by the independence movement that he leads.
“Today the parliament took a long-awaited and struggled-for step,” Mr Puigdemont said after the independence vote. But it is...Continue reading
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