The Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has proposed a "referendum on self-government, not self-determination" as a solution to the current conflict between Catalonia and Spain. He said that "what's at stake in Catalonia isn't independence, it's social harmony".
"When we talk about self-government, we're talking about a new Statute", said the prime minister, referring to the Statute of Autonomy, the basic legislation defining Catalonia's relationship with Spain. He proposed passing a new Statute for Catalonia, without going into more details.
In an interview with Cadena SER to mark the end of the summer break, Sánchez insisted that his executive is taking on the crisis in Catalonia with "the law and an unequivocal wish for dialogue", at the same time as urging president Torra "start the dialogue with the other half of Catalonia".
Transcending the blocs
Remaining on the topic of Catalonia, Sánchez noted that "43% took part" in last year's independence referendum, whilst "79%" voted in the later Parliament election, called by the Spanish government when it suspended Catalan self-government. As such, Sánchez concluded that "Catalan society is divided into two blocs and this dynamic of blocs has to be transcended to solve [the problem]".
He reiterated that his government wishes to "explore all options to solve this crisis, respecting the law".
The government's response
Catalan government spokesperson, Elsa Artadi, also responded, during the presentation of the official ceremony for this year's Catalan National Day, saying the great consensus of Catalan society is on the right to decide. "The debate in Catalan society isn't over the Statute of Autonomy," she said.
She also expressed regret "there is limited specificity" in Sánchez's proposal. "We're always in favour of voting, but you have to vote on something where there's a great consensus", she said, "the great consensus for many years, with very wide majorities, is on the right to decide".
ERC calls for courage
ERC's spokesperson, Marta Vilalta, called for Sánchez and his government "to face with sufficient courage" the situation in Catalonia in a press conference this afternoon.
"We haven't held the demonstrations of recent years for more self-government or a new Statute. What the population is calling for is to bring the underlying question to a vote, the right to self-determination, for Catalonia to become an independent country. It's on that question we call for a solution", she said, before explicitly calling for the Spanish government to be "brave" and allow them to vote on the question.
She said ERC won't change its strategy, based on dialogue and negotiation. She also underlined the importance of the independence movement moving forwards with unity of action and a joint strategy.