PP to Puigdemont’s proposal for a negotiated referendum: "no, no and no"
Casado reiterates that the PP will continue to fight the independence ‘process’ in court: "this is not a caretaker state"
MadridIn case there was any doubt, the PP stated three times its 'no' to the prospect of holding a negotiated referendum on Catalonia’s independence. In response to the suggestion put forward this Monday by Catalan President Carles Puigdemont of boosting the 'no' with a possible constitutional reform or improved funding, the PP’s Deputy Secretary of Communications Pablo Casado responded: "no, no and no".
According to Casado, who paraphrased the party’s General Secretary, María Dolores de Cospedal —who in turn had adopted the ‘no means no’ of the former socialist leader Pedro Sanchez— this no "is a yes to equality", and the defence of the law, "because the law must be upheld".
Following a meeting of his party’s leadership, Casado described the current situation in Catalonia as "challenging", while stating that "the PP will continue to defend the law without fanfare, but with a firm hand."
As for Puigdemont’s plea not to judicialise the political conflict, Casado stated that neither the judges nor the courts are "in a caretaker role" and that they have his "full support", adding that they will continue to fight the ‘process’ in court.
Vote of confidence
Casado also called for the investiture vote to be resolved "as soon as possible", though without wishing to directly rush the PSOE to speed up its own internal schedule. Casado reiterated that he did not seek to put conditions on the PSOE, and only asked that they allowed them to govern by abstaining during the confidence vote. "We need to clear up the situation as soon as possible," he asserted, before stating that the PP are open to "compromise and dialogue".
The Deputy Secretary stated that there is a "path of negotiation" between Mariano Rajoy and the President of the PSOE Caretaking Committee, Javier Fernández.
Corruption
In response to the article which appeared in Monday’s El Mundo suggesting that the PP sent a PowerPoint presentation to its leaders in 1999 showing them how to go about raising illegal funds, Casado avoided giving a direct answer to the substance of the question by stating that they had "no record" of the matter and that "he was still at school in 1999".
