The countdown begins
Parliament this week will see the passing of the Referendum Law; 27 days out from the vote the PSOE will offer its latest alternative to a Catalan republic
The independence process will come to a climax this week in a parliamentary session on Wednesday and Thursday. All the years of work, the political and public debate, will culminate in the adoption of the law that will protect the October 1 referendum
Parliament’s disobedience in the face of Spanish law, or obedience to the will of the people expressed at the ballots in the last election, is expected to be debated in just one day. It is assumed that the MPs of Junts pel Sí and CUP will follow the agenda according to plan, in accordance with Article 81.3 of the rules of the House, and the referendum bill will pass.
Once published in the Official Journal of the Generalitat, the government will convoke the referendum and the subsequent decrees needed to facilitate the vote, including the census and the electoral Audit Office so as to avoid any possible leeway for Spain’s government to react on a legal level in the coming international battle. It is possible but doubtful at this stage that Parliament will vote on the law which will effectly create the means of secession.
The reaction from Madrid will be quick as Mariano Rajoy has shown this last weekend that he has no intention of any change of attitude. Spain’s socialists will today unveil their plan, just 27 days out from the vote, for constitutional changes to offer Catalonia an alternative. That is unlikely to have any effect on the situation at present.
Among Catalonia’s opposition parties, the PP and Ciutadans have already announced that they will not take part in the debate and Miquel Iceta has said that the PSC MPs will leave the house during the vote.