When last we checked in on Catalonia, Spain’s black swan was splashing around in a desperate attempt to avoid snap elections just three months after the region’s parliament approved a “democratic disconnection” resolution and just four months after Catalans voted in what amounted to a referendum on secession from Spain.
The problem was that although Junts pel Si and the Popular Unity Candidacy (CUP) parties won a majority of the seats in parliament, and although both parties back a split from Spain, the two groups were unable to agree on who should lead the government. The choice was between then-President Artur Mas (Junts pel Si's leader) or someone else.
Once CUP made it clear that they would not back Mas for President, the prospect of new elections reared its ugly head and the countdown was on to January 11 - the deadline for forming a government. "Lacking a majority in the 135-seat parliament, Mas had been reliant on the support of the pro-secession, far-left CUP group, which has 10 seats." WaPo wrote in November. "But the CUP has refused to back Mas as regional president, because of his austerity policies of recent years and his party’s links to corruption scandals."
When national elections held in December proved largely inconclusive, the stage was set for new elections both in Catalonia and for the country as a whole. Because the various parties vying for seats in the national parliament are divided on the Catalan independence bid, politics in Madrid are inextricably bound up with politics in Barcelona, creating an extraordinarily complex dynamic that admitted of no obvious solution.
Well, with the clock ticking, Catalonia resolved its stalemate on Saturday when Artur Mas agreed to stand aside so that Carles Puigdemont can assume the presidency. Mas had indicated he wasn't willing to step aside as recently as Tuesday, but when push came to shove, advancing the secession bid proved more important than political grandstanding. Here's FT:
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