Calvo clarifies 155 not an option

The vice president of the Spanish government, Carmen Calvo, said yesterday afternoon that the application of article 155 in Catalonia does not enter into the executive’s plans. Specifically, answering the question upon her arrival at the Senate of whether the controversial article is on the table, Calvo responded with a laconic “no”.

Calvo had already explained that 155 would be “the last measure” to be employed after the AP-7 was cut off by a Republican Defence Committee (Catalan acronym CDR) on Saturday and statements regarding the Slovenian path, although the spokesperson of the PSOE electoral committee , Esther Peña, said she had not closed the door on the option and if it came to it would not think twice.

In the morning, the secretary of the PSC, Miquel Iceta, had already told TV3 that “there are no reasons” to apply 155, and expressed his confidence in the Mossos (the Catalan police), praising their professionalism. However, he added it was the Catalan government that he did not trust, because of the “series of declarations in recent days”. “We have seen the Catalan President encouraging action (by the CDRs) and when they do it the police decide not to act,” said Iceta, who believes that after the incidents in Girona and Terrassa the Catalan government “advised the political heads” of the Mossos not to take action. However, he admitted that rather than sending police to Catalonia, the solution “is the Mossos being able to act calmly, free from political obstacles”.

In a similar vein, PSC spokesperson to Parliament Eva Granados said that 155 “does not make any sense” and invited the leaders of the PP and C’s to read the Constitution to see when it is applicable, as “now is the time for dialogue”.