​Statements by President of the Government in Lower House of Parliament

Q.- (Inaudible)

President of the Government.- The only outcome we consider is for the law to be upheld and for the rights of individuals to be respected in Spain. Last week, a plenary session was held of the Regional Parliament of Catalonia, at which during the day's meeting, regional MPs were not allowed to make amendments, MPs were not allowed to take part, MPs were deprived of their rights, and, moreover, the whole legality was changed in just 24 hours, national sovereignty was wiped out and a referendum was called. You will appreciate that this has never before happened in any of our peer countries, and obviously not in Spain. This was a clearly anti-democratic event, as is calling an illegal referendum.

Hence, the only outcome we consider, and there is no alternative scenario, is for this referendum to not be held.

Q.- President of the Government, and if the law is not followed? If they declare their disobedience?

President of the Government.- They can declare whatever they want. In Spain, the law is upheld because Spain is a democracy and, if the law is not upheld this means that the will of the majority of our citizens serves absolutely no purpose whatsoever and that everyone can do whatever they deem fit and opportune. It is clear that this simply can't be the case.

There is no government anywhere in the world that can accept a referendum of this nature being held, not one.

Q.- In the case of disobedience, will the Public Prosecutor's Office act? Do you trust in what they will do?

President of the Government.- The Public Prosecutor's Office always acts to defend the law and the judiciary, as does the government, because that is our obligation and everyone must understand that this is the case. There is no alternative to that. The government cannot allow, and neither can the Public Prosecutor's Office or the judiciary, some people to unilaterally opt to break the law and do whatever they deem fit and opportune. That is simply not possible because it means submitting to the law of the jungle and everyone doing whatever they want. If a government breaks the law or some MPs break the law, everyone else has the legitimacy to do so.

Hence, as I have said on numerous occasions, and as I have explained to Mr Puigdemont, it is not possible to do something that is clearly illegal. He has just said that he needs to speak with the government. We have been speaking now for a long time, but you cannot negotiate by saying that what is non-negotiable is wiping out our national sovereignty and running roughshod over the Constitution and the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia. That is not going to happen and no democratic government in any country in the world would accept something of such characteristics.

I regret this deeply. I would like to see democratic behaviour from these people. I repeat, what happened the other day in the Regional Parliament of Catalonia is something regrettable, because in just six hours they managed to draft a new constitution - the infamous Transience Act - everything prior to that was repealed; they didn't allow some regional MPs to speak; they ignored the opinions of the legal counsel; the Council of Statutory Guarantees was not allowed to take part and all the procedures established in the Regulations of the Regional Parliament of Catalonia and the Statute of Autonomy were breached. In other words, this was an unprecedented blow to democracy and will not be tolerated. We cannot accept this, and hence, no referendum will be held.

And I take this opportunity to say to all those people that appreciate that the government has to meet its obligations, which we will do, to remain calm; and if anyone is called to attend a polling station, then they shouldn't go because a referendum cannot be held because this is absolutely illegal.

Thank you very much.

Non official translation