Catalan election: separatists win most seats, Ciudadanos the most-voted party
11 replies, posted
[QUOTE=El Pais]With over 96% of the vote counted, Catalonia’s three secessionist parties had secured a combined 70 seats in the regional parliament, two more than the 68 required for a majority in the 135-seat assembly.
But the unionist Ciudadanos was by far the most voted party, attracting over a million votes compared to under 900,000 for its nearest rival, the separatist Junts per Catalunya.
Because of the way the electoral system works, this gives Ciudadanos 36 seats while the party of ousted premier Carles Puigdemont gets 34. The Catalan Republican Left (ERC) comes in third with 32 seats, the Catalan Socialists fourth with 17, Catalunya en Comú-Podem gets eight, while the far-left CUP and the conservative Popular Party (PP) plummet to four deputies each.
While the development of the situation is not certain, it is expected that the separatist parties (Junts per Catalunya, ERC and CUP) will join forces in a governing coalition. The anti-independence parties (Ciudadanos, Popular Party and Socialists) together do not make up the required 68 seats.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=Reuters]With nearly all votes counted, separatist parties won a slim majority in Catalan parliament, a result that promises to prolong political tensions which have damaged Spain’s economy and prompted a business exodus from the region.
Rajoy, who called the elections after sacking the previous secessionist government, had hoped Catalonia’s “silent majority” would deal separatism a decisive blow in what was a de facto independence referendum, but his hard line backfired.
[/QUOTE]
Source: [URL="https://elpais.com/elpais/2017/12/21/inenglish/1513880840_020831.html"]El País[/URL][URL="https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/el-pais/"](MBFC)[/URL], [URL="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-spain-politics-catalonia/catalan-separatists-win-election-in-rebuke-to-spain-and-eu-idUSKBN1EE2WW"]Reuters[/URL][URL="https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/reuters/"](MBFC)[/URL]
So what happens now? Wasn't the whole goal of having new elections Madrid's attempt to dislodge such parties from power?
[QUOTE=Trebgarta;52997824]Hopefully the issue dies out and the 51% majority government of Catalonia gets back to governing Catalonia, within Spain.[/QUOTE]
After the way this situation has played out and how Madrid has treated the Catalans I'm not sure how you can say that. It's extremely optimistic to say the least
However, would anything change? Or would Status Quo be preserved?
[QUOTE=Trebgarta;52997824]Hopefully the issue dies out and the 51% majority government of Catalonia gets back to governing Catalonia, within Spain.[/QUOTE]
That ball falls in Spain's court, if they keep pushing Catalonia what happens will happen.
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;52997782]So what happens now? Wasn't the whole goal of having new elections Madrid's attempt to dislodge such parties from power?[/QUOTE]
It was, but they were WAY too optimistic about the results unionist parties would get if they convocated them very quickly after all the recent events, while the iron was still hot. They also believed in the separatist parties scrambling to make a campaign and choose representation with such short notice... Yet as you can see, they did.
[QUOTE=Mifil;52998508]However, would anything change? Or would Status Quo be preserved?[/QUOTE]
Yeah, basically if the separatist parties group together and form a majority, it will preserve the political status quo that was there before all of this started. Meh solution in my books, but...
The highly unlikely possibility is that they can't make up their mind and nobody forms a mixture big enough to do said majority in 3 months IIRC and in that case, elections would repeat next year I guess. But it's near impossible it actually happens.
Do note I have said political status quo: I [IMG]https://facepunch.com/fp/ratings/rainbow.png[/IMG]think[IMG]https://facepunch.com/fp/ratings/rainbow.png[/IMG] the tree has been shaken up quite a bit (business moved, losses of sales, important events moving out of there, the spanish-made boycott) and this will wake up people in these next four years.
It's hard changing around half of the region's mind in a few months, but after a few years...
Hell, these results weren't that bad, I've read many times now that more than half of the votes were towards unionist parties (just hindered by the fucked up d'hondt voting system as always), so rainbows.
[QUOTE=Megadave;52999149]That ball falls in Spain's court, if they keep pushing Catalonia what happens will happen.[/QUOTE]
You said it yourself. Spain's COURT. Courts handle the law. If Catalonia does not do things against the law (like the Oct-1 vote and previous self-determination law), courts will not handle them.
If Spain acts above the law, I believe it is in Catalonia's best interests to act accordingly and swiftly. That is my opinion, and no amount of Franco leftover's will convince me otherwise.
[editline]23rd December 2017[/editline]
If genuine support for independence is high enough, it would be unethical to not separate.
[QUOTE=Megadave;52999941]If Spain acts above the law, I believe it is in Catalonia's best interests to act accordingly and swiftly. That is my opinion, and no amount of Franco leftover's will convince me otherwise.
[editline]23rd December 2017[/editline]
If genuine support for independence is high enough, it would be unethical to not separate.[/QUOTE]
Spain acting above the law? This stuff has mostly been catalonia going against the constitution.
And sure, although, the requirement to force the rest of Catalonia through such a massive change has to be something like a super-majority.
[QUOTE=thelurker1234;52999978]Spain acting above the law? This stuff has mostly been catalonia going against the constitution.
And sure, although, the requirement to force the rest of Catalonia through such a massive change has to be something like a super-majority.[/QUOTE]
Spain escalated the situation by undertaking such a heavy-handed response. They can't hold new elections and expect people to vote in their favour after handling things the way they did.
[QUOTE=Mifil;52998508]However, would anything change? Or would Status Quo be preserved?[/QUOTE]
Status Quo for now. We will see on the next months what idiot moves does anyone of the sides.
Given how heavy handed Madrid reacted to the referendum, I'm certain that if the separatist parties want to push forward, they'll do it in a more smart manner.
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