23 of November: Rajoy has wiped out Catalan home rule

He has managed to do so through a more subtle but equally effective means than to suspend our self-rule by invoking article 155 of the Spanish Constitution: he has taken over Catalonia’s finances. When you cannot decide what you will spend your money on, you effectively cannot rule.

While the move is probably very productive in terms of his election campaign, it nevertheless poses a number of risks for Rajoy. Firstly, he has wiped out Catalonia’s home rule but the political and regional shell is still in place and it can continue to play a political role. Secondly, Rajoy has effectively given up his role as defender of the status quo, arguing for leaving things unchanged.

Up until now, Rajoy could present himself before the Catalans and abroad as the defender of what we already had in place, which supporters of independence sought to get rid of. Nowadays, what we have has no operational support to speak of. In practice, nobody argues for leaving things as they are now.

Independence supporters propose a leap forward, whereas Rajoy has taken a leap backwards. In Catalonia those who favoured the notion of remaining motionless, of keeping the status quo, of not lifting a finger, will now have to make their choices. Either some sort of leap forward, with all the risks involved, or a leap backwards like Rajoy’s, with all the damage it has caused. Not to the Catalan government, but to Catalans themselves.