Madrid seeks to reverse independence process by boosting its presence in Catalonia

Yesterday Mariano Rajoy got the photo opp he wanted to illustrate the new narrative on Catalonia that the Spanish government wants to impose. The swearing in of Enric Millo as the Spanish government's new representative in Barcelona became an ideal scenario to formalize the strategic shift that the PP hopes to use to combat the Catalan independence process.

While so far the only response to the Generalitat’s demands have been slammed doors and appeals to the Constitutional Court (TC), the new mindset touted by the PP, and which Vice-President Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría is charged with promoting, is that of being open to dialogue. Of course, within the boundaries of the law. This is an offer that the Generalitat views with skepticism, and which Rajoy wants to complement with the constant presence of his ministers in Catalonia.

Does this mean that the Spanish executive branch is abandoning the courtroom approach to fight the independence bid? I doesn’t. Is it willing to discuss an independence referendum? Again, it isn’t. The fight, according to PP sources, is about the narrative. Some within the PP admit that one of the main weaknesses of the Spanish government up to now has been that the independence movement has managed to consolidate the image of a Spanish government that doesn't want to negotiate. Now, Rajoy's offensive --commanded by Santamaría-- will be focused on trying to turn around this argument and present the independence movement as one that has no desire to reach agreements and is only interested in dialogue about the right to self-determination.

Catalan government sources, however, discredit this strategy, and point to the fact that the change in tone will never be more than “all talk" unless it goes hand-in-hand with actions like allowing a referendum and the cancellation of hundreds of legal complaints by the Spanish government’s delegation against municipalities that have supported independence in one way or another.

Tidal wave of Spanish ministers in Catalonia

The other front in the Spanish government's strategy lies in multiplying its presence in Catalonia. "The State has disappeared", was one of the oft-repeated complaints within the PP during the 9-N consultation. Now Rajoy is proposing a reversal of this impression and wants his ministers to travel to Catalonia whenever they can. The only Catalan cabinet member, Minister of Health Dolors Montserrat, has been instructed to let herself be seen every weekend, and Santamaría --who announced yesterday that the Spanish government will travel "often to Catalonia for very productive topics"-- will have her own office in the headquarters of the Spanish Delegation in Barcelona. Also on the table will be the possibility of holding a cabinet meeting of the Spanish government in the Catalan capital, according to a report yesterday in La Razón and confirmed to ARA by PP sources.

The Spanish Vice-President turned Millo's swearing-in ceremony yesterday into her first major event as the main intermediary between the Spanish authorities and the Generalitat. Before Catalonia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Raül Romeva —who attended at the event merely as Minister of Institutional Relations--, and Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau, Santamaría offered "Catalan authorities" the opportunity to open a new era of "dialogue and understanding" in exchange for "institutional loyalty" and respect for the law.

Her meeting in Barcelona with Catalan Vice-President Oriol Junqueras —who she sent a letter to formally requesting a get-together to begin a "calm and deep" dialogue, and to address topics beyond the referendum— will be the first chapter of this new period.

After recognizing that the Spanish government may have made "mistakes" in the last five years, Santamaría assured that a new period is beginning in which it will be necessary to "bring our determination together, far from radical scenarios". A new period in which, said Santamaría, Millo will be a "key and crucial" piece, as he will become "the eyes, ears, and the right and left hands" of the administration "to find out how to build dialogue and consensus".

Millo reaches out to municipalities

The former PP spokesman in Parliament --a role to be held from now on by Alejandro Fernández-- also made the effort to underpin the message of a "new era" and promised that "constructive and sincere dialogue" will be a hallmark of his actions. Under the gaze of a Llanos de Luna who has been set aside, and leaders of Societat Civil Catalana (Catalan Civil Society) who are wary of a possible softening of position by the Spanish government, Millo --who was sworn in in Catalan-- reached out to the Catalan government and to municipalities to work together on the basis of respect for a Constitution that is indeed open for "modernization".

The first acid test for the new delegate will not be long in coming. It will be on December 6th, with the AMI's call on Catalan municipalities to consider Constitution Day as a normal work day. Sources close to Millo suggest that the PP leader "has a problem", and it remains to be seen how he combines a desire to show more willingness to negotiate with "the need to enforce the law”.

It also remains to be seen how the PP will fit Millo's new standing into the Catalan PP. Santamaría noted yesterday that he is her main liaison, which leaves the current general coordinator of the Catalan PP, Xavier García Albiol, out of the loop. Stripped of the role of middleman between the Spanish government and the Generalitat, the PP leader in the Catalan Parliament is now seeing how his commitment to a hardline position against independence has been called into question. Rajoy is imposing a change in style, but not substance. A silk glove to cover the iron fist with which he will try to deliver a fatal blow to the process.