Madrid pulls out all the stops ahead of the secession vote in Catalonia
Ahead
of the controversial October 1 referendum on secession in Catalonia,
the Spanish government’s awkward move of tightening the purse-strings
could prove politically costly. There is cause for concern that Prime
Minister Mariano Rajoy's meddling with the financial priorities of
Barcelona will play into the hands of the separatists. A veteran of many
a crisis, Mr. Rajoy recently issued instructions to the regional
government to ensure that not a single euro earmarked for development
activities is diverted to the vote. The decision requiring weekly
certification follows a judicial declaration that all expenditure
towards the vote were unconstitutional. Recourse to such seemingly
stringent measures has predictably drawn flak from Catalan leaders, who
were already embittered that the province is being denied its due share
of the overall tax revenues. Madrid’s mainstream political parties are
opposed to the long-standing demand of Catalonia for independent
statehood. Riding on the overwhelming support in the national
parliament, Mr. Rajoy’s centre-right coalition is determined to block
the proposed independence referendum. The government is even
contemplating the invocation of Article 155 of the constitution to
exercise direct authority over the north-eastern region in the event of a
worst-case scenario. The country’s constitutional court is widely
expected to rule that any referendum, as well as secession from the
union, is violative of the constitution.
