MADRID _ Catalonian President Carles Puigdemont has until 10 a.m. Monday to tell the Spanish government whether he did, indeed, declare independence last week.
If he says yes _ or even just ignores the deadline _ Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy may start the process to seize control of the rebel administration during the coming weeks. Television station TV3, which is controlled by the regional government, said Puigdemont will not give Rajoy a clear 'Yes' or 'No.'
Puigdemont is running out of options after he declared independence and immediately suspended it from taking effect, at a regional parliament session Oct. 10. That managed to rile both the government in Madrid and the radical separatists he needs to shore up his majority in the parliament. Rajoy ordered him to clear up his "deliberate" confusion, setting Monday's deadline.
If Puigdemont states clearly that he didn't declare independence for Spain's largest regional economy, his separatist alliance might start to unravel. That sets Catalonia on track toward early regional elections with an uncertain outcome to the balance of power, which currently runs in favor of separatism.
Should Puigdemont assert that he did declare independence, Rajoy is set to use Article 155 of the Spanish Constitution to take direct control of the Catalonian administration and sideline Puigdemont and his team. In that scenario, Rajoy eventually would have to call regional elections himself to return to normal.
Rajoy has been clear that he won't negotiate with Puigdemont until the Catalans withdraw their threat of a unilateral declaration of independence and accept the authority of the Spanish courts. Spain's Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria said Friday that it still wasn't too late for Puigdemont to stop the clock on a possible government intervention by returning to the rule of law.
She said the uncertainty in Catalonia was affecting the region's economy and the government may have to review its 2018 estimate for economic growth if the crisis isn't resolved.
At least 531 companies have transferred their legal bases out of Catalonia to other parts of Spain since the regional government held a referendum on Oct. 1, El Mundo reported, citing data from Spain's College of Registrars. Rajoy's government has said that as well as being illegal, the result was invalid because it lacked basic operational safeguards.
One other option would be for Puigdemont to call regional elections himself. That would bring the political process back in line within the Spanish rule of law, allow a more measured debate on the rebel region's future and may buy the president a couple more months in office at least.
----
(Esteban Duarte contributed to this report.)
.jpg?w=600)
