Tag: Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy

Ousted Catalan leader’s comeback bid delayed

by Diego URDANETA (Agence France-Presse BARCELONA, Spain (AFP) – The speaker of Catalonia’s parliament postponed a crunch vote Tuesday to formally re-elect ousted president Carles Puigdemont into office, delaying his controversial comeback bid. But Roger Torrent defended Puigdemont’s right to be re-elected by Catalan lawmakers despite a court ban after separatist parties won a majority in December elections and the former regional leader was officially nominated as candidate for the presidency. “Today’s plenary session… is postponed,” he […]

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Catalan parliament meets as sacked leader seeks comeback

by Daniel Bosque with Michaela Cancela-Kieffer in Madrid Agence France Presse BARCELONA, Spain – Catalonia’s parliament met Wednesday for the first time since it was dissolved following a failed bid to break from Spain in a session that will see separatists start the process to get sacked regional leader Carles Puigdemont back into power. Pro-independence parties are in the majority after winning regional elections on December 21 called by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to try and put […]

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Catalonia independence push sparks tourism slump

by Emmanuelle Michel with Marianne Barriaux in Barcelona Agence France-Presse MADRID, Spain (AFP) – Catalonia’s independence push is taking its toll on the region’s tourism industry, with revenues and hotel bookings down since a banned October 1 secession referendum that was marred by violence. “The tourism sector is one of the most strongly affected by the instability,” Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy told parliament last week as he defended his government’s handling of the Catalan crisis. Catalonia, with […]

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Spain rejects mediation as Catalans plan to declare independence

by Marianne Barriaux with Roland Lloyd Parry in Madrid Agence France-Presse BARCELONA, Spain (AFP) – Spain’s government defiantly rejected calls for mediation Wednesday over Catalonia’s push for independence, which the country’s king warned was endangering national stability. As the European Union urged dialogue to ease the standoff between separatists in the northeastern region and Madrid, Catalan leaders said they could unilaterally declare independence as early as Monday. The tone of the crisis sharpened with Catalonia’s president denouncing […]

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