Spanish PM warns he will trigger direct rule of Catalonia at weekend

Spain's prime minister today announced the first steps towards imposing direct rule on Catalonia.

A cabinet meeting will be held on Saturday to trigger the process of taking control from the regional government in Barcelona, Mariano Rajoy said.

The move came only minutes after the region’s leader threatened to explicitly declare independence if no talks were offered by Madrid. Carles Puigdemont’s warning was contained in a letter to Mr Rajoy shortly before the expiry of a 10am deadline set by the central government for him to backtrack on his calls for secession.

“If the central government persists in impeding dialogue and continuing its repression, Catalonia’s parliament will proceed ... with a vote to formally declare independence,” Mr Puigdemont’s letter said.

Madrid’s response was swift and unequivocal. A government spokesman said the letter did not meet Madrid’s demands and Article 155 of Spain’s 1978 constitution would be triggered, allowing it to take over the running of the region.

“The Spanish government will continue with the procedures outlined in Article 155 of the Constitution to restore legality in Catalonia’s self-government,” Mr Rajoy’s statement said.

The cabinet meeting would “approve the measures that will be sent to the Senate to protect the general interest of all Spaniards”, it added. Article 155 has never been invoked in the four decades since democracy was restored at the end of General Franco’s dictatorship.

The Catalan leader declared independence in an address to the regional parliament last week, but then immediately suspended it and challenged Spain to hold negotiations.

Spanish authorities want to take action after Mr Puigdemont went ahead with a banned referendum that they say violated the country’s constitution.

Just over 40 percent of Catalonia’s 5.5 million eligible voters cast ballots in the October 1 referendum. There were violent scenes as police tried to enforce a court order to stop it from going ahead.

Catalan officials said hundreds of people were injured in police violence, while Spanish authorities said hundreds of police officers were also hurt.

The precise terms of Article 155 are vague and could spur more wrangling with the restive region.

Madrid’s options include sacking the regional administration and installing a new team, taking control of police and finances, or calling a snap election.