Cs urges new Spanish president to re-take control of Catalonia's self-government

Ciutadanos (Cs) wants the new Spanish government, led by Socialist Pedro Sánchez, to re-take control of Catalonia's self-government. The secretary-general of the party, José Manuel Villegas, said that the new Catalan executive is "the same" as the old one, and "has not been rectified."

According to him, Spain should control Catalonia's finances, police, foreign policy and public media. "We cannot give weapons back to those that committed a coup d'état," Villegas warned. According to him, the government led by Quim Torra "will take the same steps" as the one led by Carles Puigdemont, so Madrid shouldn't wait, but instead apply Article 155 immediately.

"We don't have to wait for a new coup, we think we can act already," he said, urging "constitutional" parties –Cs, PP and PSOE- to come together against pro-independence ones.

Catalonia got control of its own administration back on Saturday, seven months after Madrid stripped it of self-tule following a declaration of independence. Although pro-independence forces tried to re-elect exiled Carles Puigdemont as president, the Spanish justice blocked all attempts, and also did not accept jailed MPs as candidates. Finally, pro-independence forces elected Quim Torra, who after trying to nominate jailed and exiled ministers back to their posts, chose a government with people unaffected by independence judicial case. Article 155 was automatically lifted when the new ministers took their oaths – this was the commitment made when the article was invoked in the Senate, back in October last year.