MADRID: Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy yesterday branded the Catalonia region’s symbolic vote on independence a failure and rejected its call for a full referendum on breaking away from Spain.
In his first public reaction to the ballot, he invited Catalan leaders to propose constitutional reforms to further their demands, but warned he would not negotiate on demands for a full independence vote.
Catalonia’s president Artur Mas had reached out to Madrid to soften its resistance after 1.86 million people in the rich northeastern region backed independence in Sunday’s symbolic vote.
“If Mr Mas intends to reform the constitution... he has a perfect right” to propose measures in the regional parliament, Rajoy told a news conference. “What he wants to do is impose a real referendum on me, and I can tell you now that cannot be,” he added, however.
“I will oppose any constitutional change that weakens national sovereignty.”
Catalonia’s leaders said 2.3 million people in the region of 7.5 million turned out for Sunday’s vote, which was stripped of legal force after challenges from Madrid.
Of the 5.4 million voters aged over 16 who were authorised to vote, 1.86 million favoured independence, they said.
Rajoy said the vote was an “act of political propaganda” to which “two out of three Catalans paid no attention”. “We have witnessed a deep failure for the independence movement,” he said.
Rajoy has branded a referendum unconstitutional and vowed to defend the unity of Spain as it recovers from a six-year economic crisis. He complained that recent tensions with Catalonia had created “instability”.
