Search results

The plebiscite on the independence of Catalonia was adopted by the parliament of the Autonomous Community on 6th September 2017, which was suspended two days later by the Spanish Constitutional Court. Despite the prohibition of the Constitutional Court, the Catalan government decided to hold the illegal referendum on 1st October 2017, which increased the tensions between the Spanish cabinet and the Generalitat as a result of harsh police force's riots. At the end of October 2017, the Catalan regional parliament declared the independence of the Autonomous Community. The reaction of the Spanish government was that it suspended the autonomy of Catalonia and decided to call early elections on 21st December 2017. Although the pro-independence parties (JuntsxCat and Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya) won the elections, they could only constitute a stable government by the external support of the radical left-wing party, Alternativa de Esquerres. The objective of my essay is to evaluate the political and economic consequences of the Catalan plebiscite, which was held on 1st October 2017. The popular vote about the self-determination of Catalonia caused a political and legal uncertainty and influenced the economic situation of the Autonomous Community and Spain negatively. The events which happened in Catalonia contributed to the loss of control over the legislature by a motion of no confidence against the Government of Mariano Rajoy and increased the division between the Catalan and the Spanish society. Because of length constraints, I will not highlight the European Union's policy of the People's Party and the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party. Besides the evaluation of the political and economic outcomes of the Catalan referendum, the main aim of the paper is to give insight into the factors that determined the independence process in Catalonia.