Consitution reform is 'urgent, viable, and desirable,' says Spain's public administration minister

The new Spanish government minister for public administration, Meritxell Batet, stated that a reform of the Magna Carta in Spain is "urgent, viable, and desirable." The newly governing Socialist party (PSOE) has indeed been pushing for a state-wide move towards a federal government, for instance when it comes to taxes. 

Batet spoke during the Catalan Socialist party (PSC) event on Saturday, June 9, called 'Constitutional, federal reform with rights.' Here, she assured the audience that to address the political conflict with Catalonia "there's not enough" when it comes to the constitution, and therefore suggested putting forth political measures to that end, "as long as there's confidence and loyalty."

The 46th point

Batet is Catalan, and this was her first event in Catalonia as a minister of Spain. During her speech, she also spoke of "taking up once more" the talking points that Puigdemont had put forth to Rajoy over two years ago, in April 2016. Batet referred to it as a "45-point document," omitting the 46th point, which was a referendum on Catalan self-determination, an issue which the new Spanish government has already taken off the table.

The minister also suggested recovering investments for Catalonia which she deemed "necessary," and work on legislative reforms to recover part of the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia deemed as unconstitutional by the Spanish Constitutional Court in 2010. 

Torra responds 

Catalan president Quim Torra celebrated the "concrete proposals" made by Meritxell Batet, regards "urgent" changes to be made to the Spanish constitution. Still, though, Torra, however, put emphasis on the "popular mandate" of the October 1 Catalan independence referendum, and stated his intentions for his upcoming meeting with Spanish president Pedro Sánchez. "It won't be [just] to take photos," he alluded, stating that "issues that are important to the country" will be debated upon.