Sáenz de Santamaría wields threat of suspended devolution
The Spanish government doesn’t rule out invoking article 155 of the Spanish Constitution as a matter of urgency, even if Madrid’s parliament is no longer in session
Mariano Rajoy’s government always keeps a card up its sleeve when it come to dealing with Catalonia during testing times for the PP (Partido Popular). Since the campaign leading up to the mock vote of November 9, some PP ministers have wielded this threat every time the Catalan process seemed to be getting the better of them: article 155 of the Spanish Constitution; that is, suspending Catalonia’s devolved powers.
Rajoy’s government abhors the picture of Catalan president Artur Mas being cheered by the crowds as he walked into the courthouse on October 15. Spanish vice president Soraya Sáenz de Santamaria refuses to discuss whether approaching the Catalan issue from a legal angle is actually giving the secession bid greater momentum, as former Spanish president José María Aznar keeps saying whenever he gets a chance. With a steady hand, last Thursday president Rajoy decided to stay the course and persevere with his original strategy. Shortly afterwards, though, Justice Minister Rafael Catalá once again brought up the possibility of suspending Catalonia’s self-rule.
On Friday Madrid decided to change tack and emphasised this threat. Up until then, Sáenz de Santamaría had tiptoed around the possibility of resorting to article 155 but she had occasionally mentioned that “our Constitution includes provisions to uphold the law”. This time she went further when she noted that the State’s instruments to quickly suspend Catalan self-rule are all in place.
One of the questions that hadn’t been addressed was whether article 155 could be invoked once the Spanish parliament was no longer in session. Yesterday government sources made a point of reminding the media that Spain is never left without a legislature and that the Senate’s permanent deputies could resort to a measure like that as a matter of urgency, once Rajoy has called the general elections for December 20 and both chambers have been dissolved. In order to invoke article 155 --which would be unprecedented--, the Spanish Constitution requires “an absolute majority in the Senate” but both chambers will be dissolved on October 26, ahead of Spain’s general elections.
The strategy of turning the Catalan problem into a legal matter
Still, Madrid was at pains to highlight that a suspension of Catalonia’s self-rule is merely another legal option. When she was questioned about it at the press conference following the cabinet meeting, Sáenz de Santamaría replied that “this is not about a minister or the Spanish government, but about the Constitution, which clearly states that everyone must uphold the law and protect the general interest”.
“Mas seems to think that he is the embodiment of democracy”
The Spanish government’s spokesperson also remarked that she finds it “outrageous” that on Thursday Mas should entertain the possibility of ignoring a hypothetical impeachment order from the High Court.“Mas seems to think that he is the embodiment of democracy”, she noted. And she reminded him that Mas is the president of a Spanish autonomous region and, if he is not prepared to obey the law, why should anyone be? “How could he possibly expect Catalans to observe the laws passed by the Catalan parliament or any decisions taken by the Catalan authorities, if he chooses to set himself above democracy?”, she asked.