Spain: PM Rajoy Says Catalonia ‘Has Once Again Displayed Its Political Plurality’
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy in his appearance at Moncloa Palace to assess the results of the elections in Catalonia, underlined that “those in favor of segregation were never backed by the law and, as of Sunday, we know that they do not have the support of the majority of Catalan society either.”
According to Rajoy, although some sought to make the elections held on Sunday in Catalonia direct elections and thus start a process to break away from the rest of Spain, what they did in fact do was elect their representatives in the Regional Parliament.
However, the results from the ballot box confirm that “not even as many as four out of ten Catalans are committed to a break-away process,” Rajoy said.
Rajoy congratulated all the people of Catalonia for the high turnout recorded in these elections and for the “democratic maturity and responsibility” shown.
Govern for all the people of Catalonia
In his speech, Rajoy called on the Regional Government that comes out of the new Regional Parliament to “govern for all the people of Catalonia, to overcome the divisions, tension and confrontations that have marked recent years, to replace monologue and unilateral imposition with constructive and loyal dialogue, because it was once again shown yesterday that Catalonia is very plural.”
In this effort, Rajoy said, they will receive “all the collaboration from my government, provided this is within the law and from a standpoint of full institutional respect,” because “a strong and supportive country, such as ours, stands up to its challenges from a position of unity and with the cooperation of everyone.”
The Spanish Prime Minister expressed his willingness to listen and to talk. Dialogue with all the political groups is “very healthy and very democratic”, but what we do not seek to do is “to break the law, the expression of the will of the majority or the rules we have enacted to maintain our co-existence,” Rajoy declared.
In this regard, Rajoy asserted that the Government of Spain will continue to oversee “respect for the Rule of Law, the equality of all the Spanish people and the rights and liberties of one and all.”