The leader of Spain’s secession-minded Catalonia region says he has decided against calling a parliamentary election that might have defused tension with the Spanish government.
Carles Puigdemont said he considered calling a snap election, but was choosing not to because he did not receive enough guarantees that the central government’s “abusive” moves to take control of Catalonia would be suspended.
Catalan president Carles Puigdemont (Ruben Moreno/AP)
In a hastily called address from his palace in Barcelona, the separatist leader said the regional parliament will decide how to respond to the takeover plan.
The unprecedented measures are set to be approved on Friday in Madrid and will lead to the first direct intervention by central authorities in the affairs of one of the country’s 17 autonomous regions.
People march during a protest against the Spanish government in Barcelona (Emilio Morenatti/AP)
Spain’s conservative government had offered to halt the extraordinary measures if a new election was called in Catalonia, but recently backtracked on that.
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