Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy has today warned the Valencia region that it must not follow in the footsteps of Catalonia. At an event held by the Popular Party (PP) in Alicante, Rajoy told Valencians that following the Catalan example was "the last thing that they need".
"You, Valencians, do not have to follow the examples of division, confrontation and invention of problems that are causing so many difficulties to so many Catalans", he declared.
The leader of the Spanish government also issued a strong criticism of the law for plurilingualism in Valencian schools, passed by the Valencian parliament in February, considering it "unconstitutional". Rajoy highlighted that the Spanish government will not accept "impositions or discrimination against the Castilian language".
The PP's Valencian president, Isabel Bonig, also criticized this educational reform and accused the Valencian government - led by a centre-left coalition - of trying to impose its own wishes and carry out "blackmail" with the educational model "to change a pluralistic and free society". Bonig asserted that the Valencian region will not go down the "the road of "Catalanization" that started 30 years ago in Catalonia" and added that knowing the Valencian language should not be "compulsory", but "a merit".