Spanish Government “will appeal against” the self-determination call “the very next minute”

Barcelona (ACN).- The Spanish Justice Minister, Alberto Ruiz Gallardón stated on Tuesday: “if Mas [the Catalan President] signs a decree calling the consultation vote instead of [only] resigning himself to giving a statement, the very next minute, this decree will be taken to the Constitutional Court”. Furthermore, he added that “there is no doubt” that the vote “will be suspended” by the Court. The Catalan Government accused the Spanish Executive of continued “prejudices” since “appealing against” a measure “the very next minute” after it is announced “does not leave time to fully analyse it” and therefore “does not respect the rule of law”. A majority of Catalan parties is proposing a self-determination vote for the 9^th of November in accordance with the legal framework. There are 5 different ways to legally organise such a vote according to Constitutional experts. However, the Spanish Government is insisting that such a vote is illegal, vividly opposing it and does not even want to talk about it with Catalan institutions or about the claims shared by a majority of citizens in Catalonia.

In an interview with the Spanish nationalist and ultra-conservative radio station COPE – which is one of the main media in Spain, Alberto Ruíz Gallardón extensively talked about Catalonia’s self-determination issue. The Spanish Justice Minister, who has recently presented a bill on abortion more restrictive than the law from 1985, stated that “Catalan nationalism knows that this process has no possibility to reach the objectives it has set itself”. According to Gallardón “Catalan nationalism is asking the Spanish Government to turn towards Spaniards and tell them that something belonging to them – which is their nation – will no longer be at their disposal, but only at the disposal of a part of the Spaniards”. In such a scenario, “the Spanish Government’s answer will be straightforward” and “it will have all the political strength and all the judicial argumentation” on its side to stop the process, he said. “In any case this Government will not allow a political or legal act going against the Constitutions”, he emphasised.

Furthermore, the Justice Minister also reacted to the criticism expressed by some of the Spanish nationalists. They believe that the Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s attitude against Catalonia’s self-determination is not reactive enough and it is too soft. Gallardón considered these criticisms to be “unfair” and recalled to the audience that each “act against the Constitution” taking place in Catalonia has been appealed against by the Spanish Government, such as the Catalan Parliament’s Declaration of Sovereignty from January 2013. Gallardón pointed out that such a Declaration has been suspended by the Constitutional Court. In this vein, the Minister insisted that the Spanish Executive’s reaction has to follow “acts and not statements” made by Catalan political leaders. “We have to be aware that the Government’s straightforward defence of the Spanish nation, which is the base of our political engagement and the first one we swore to undertake when we entered into office, has to be absolutely out of any doubt”, he concluded.

The Catalan Government accuses Gallardón of “not respecting the rule of law”

The Catalan Minister for the President and Spokesperson for the Executive, Francesc Homs, replied on Tuesday afternoon to Gallardón’s statement. Homs accused Gallardón of acting on the basis of “prejudices”, since “filing an appeal the very next minute” does not allow for a thorough analysis of the appealed measure. Therefore, the decision to take it to the Constitutional Court follows “a prejudice, which is not part of the rule of law”, stated Homs. “If someone is serious about the issue and acts according to the rule of law, if an appeal has to be filed, it is filed after having analysed the measure adopted. Doing so the very next minute [it has been announced] means there is a prejudice, which is not part of the rule of law”, he pointed out. “They will end up filing an appeal before we have done anything, which would be at the ridiculousness’ top”, Homs said ironically.