CATALONIA -- Fitch: Catalan Result Exacerbates Independence Tensions | Reuters
(The following statement was released by the rating agency)
Link to Fitch Ratings' Report: Catalonia: Stalemate between
Region and Central
Government Creates Uncertainty
here
LONDON/BARCELONA, November 10 (Fitch) The Catalan government is
likely to use
the result of Sunday's non-binding consultative vote to push its
agenda for
reform and a formal referendum, Fitch Ratings says. But fierce
opposition from
the central government means the process and outcome are
unpredictable.
About 90% of votes were in favour of a Catalan state, with
around 80% in favour
of an independent state. The non-binding and disputed nature of
the process
meant turnout was lower than it would have been for a
referendum, at around 40%
of eligible voters, compared with around 70% at a general
election and 85% in
the recent Scottish referendum on independence.
We have analysed three possible scenarios for this issue in our
report
Catalonia: Stalemate between Region and Central Government
Creates Uncertainty,
published today. The most likely is that the central and Catalan
governments
negotiate further devolution.
