People’s Party (PP) rejects the Catalan President’s offer to meet with Rajoy in Barcelona

The Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, is rejecting the offer sent by the President of Catalonia, Artur Mas, to meet in Barcelona, to coincide with the former’s trip to the Catalan capital on November 29. According to Alícia Sánchez-Camacho, the leader of Rajoy’s party in Catalonia, “it is not the time” for such a meeting. In addition, she also said that making the offer in a press conference through the Catalan Government’s Spokesperson “is not the way” of doing things. In a press conference from Madrid, the Catalan leader of the People’s Party (PP) also pointed out that Rajoy is travelling to Barcelona “to attend a party rally”. 

Spanish Prime Minister Rajoy 
and Catalan President Mas (stock photo)

During the weekend, the Spanish PM had announced his trip to Catalonia as being in order “to better explain himself” and talk to Catalans after November 9’s symbolic vote on independence. The Catalan Government invited Rajoy to hold a meeting with Mas as well in order to set institutional dialogue once again. Rajoy is refusing to discuss self-determination and according to Sánchez-Camacho he should only talk with Catalan representatives about the same things he would talk about in the other Autonomous Communities.

Besides, from the PP's headquarters in Madrid, Sánchez-Camacho urged the Director of the Spanish Public Prosecution Office to “defend the law, democracy and the rule of law” by filing the judicial complaint against the Catalan President for authorising November 9’s vote. Furthermore, she also added that “everybody is equal” in front of justice. Sánchez-Camacho announced such a complaint a week ago, before the Public Prosecution Office had said so. In fact, many political parties and the Catalan Government have criticised the PP for not respecting the “separation of powers” and for pressuring the Public Prosecution Office.

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Catalan President Artur Mas offers to meet Rajoy during his visit to Barcelona

Furthermore, the Catalan Executive regrets that the Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, has not made any political proposal in his answer to the letter sent by the Catalan President, Artur Mas, after November 9’s symbolic vote on independence. On Monday evening, Rajoy answered Mas’ letter and highlighted that Spain’s “sovereignty” cannot be negotiated, therefore rejecting the possibility of any discussion about a mutually-agreed referendum on Catalonia’s independence. Coinciding with Rajoy’s trip to Barcelona, scheduled on November 29, the Spokesperson for the Catalan Government, Francesc Homs, stated on Tuesday that Mas “would be delighted to welcome Rajoy at the Generalitat Palace”. Read more...

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Catalan President Artur Mas offers to meet Rajoy during his visit to Barcelona

Furthermore, the Catalan Executive regrets that the Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, has not made any political proposal in his answer to the letter sent by the Catalan President, Artur Mas, after November 9’s symbolic vote on independence. On Monday evening, Rajoy answered Mas’ letter and highlighted

Spanish Prime Minister Rajoy
and Catalan President Mas (stock photo)

that Spain’s “sovereignty” cannot be negotiated, therefore rejecting the possibility of any discussion about a mutually-agreed referendum on Catalonia’s independence. Coinciding with Rajoy’s trip to Barcelona, scheduled on November 29, the Spokesperson for the Catalan Government, Francesc Homs, stated on Tuesday that Mas “would be delighted to welcome Rajoy at the Generalitat Palace”. Rajoy “has the doors open” to talk with Mas about the demands of Catalonia’s society. However, Homs also warned the Spanish PM that such dialogue should not become “a monologue”. On top of this, he asked Rajoy to start recognising “the historical mistake” he made by collecting signatures against Catalonia’s Statute of Autonomy, back in 2005 and 2006.

On Monday evening Rajoy answered the letter sent a week earlier by the President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas. The Catalan President had asked Rajoy to set “the conditions for a permanent dialogue” and to discuss a mutually-agreed referendum on Catalonia’s independence. Such a vote should be “the definitive referendum” after the symbolic citizen participation process that took place on November 9, according to Mas. Such a letter might be the last formal offer to hold talks before Mas calls for early elections to the Catalan Parliament that are likely to become a de facto referendum on independence from Spain.

However, as was somehow expected, Rajoy refused to have any discussion about Catalonia’s self-determination demands. The Spanish Prime Minister is insisting on his restrictive interpretation of the Constitution and he also refuses to talk about how to explicitly include the right to self-determination in a hypothetical Constitutional Reform. In fact, Rajoy has been repeating over the last few months that he is rejecting such a reform, which is therefore blocked taking into account the absolute majority at the Spanish Parliament that the governing People’s Party (PP) holds. Rajoy’s only reaction after November 9’s vote, which was covered by the world’s main media outlets, was to insist the vote was “illegal” and to point out potential legal consequences. In fact, the Public Prosecution Office, whose Director is appointed by Rajoy and reports to the Spanish Justice Minister, is about to file a complaint against the Catalan President over the vote, despite the Catalonia-based prosecutors having not found enough legal basis for such a judicial process. In addition, Rajoy also announced this weekend that he will travel to Barcelona on November 29, 20 days after the vote, “to better explain” himself and tell Catalans “why they should stay within the Eurozone”, implicitly suggesting that independence would result in.an automatic expulsion from the common currency system.

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