Catalan premier Quim Torra is standing trial for disobedience on Monday over his refusal to take down politically-charged signs from government buildings during the campaign leading to the municipal and European elections of May 26.
The trial, which is taking place at the regional High Court, could mean early elections in Catalonia in the event of a conviction.
The prosecution is seeking a 20-month ban on holding public office and a €30,000 penalty for Torra, a separatist politician who ignored warnings from electoral authorities noting that the government must maintain neutrality during election campaigns.
Torra refused to take down a banner from the Palau de la Generalitat, the seat of Catalan government, expressing support for political leaders who were being tried at the Supreme Court for sedition and misuse of public funds in connection with the failed secession attempt of 2017.
The disobedience trial will start and end on Monday with a single hearing. On Sunday, Torra stated that he would use the hearing to “accuse the [Spanish] State of violating” his own rights.
A guilty verdict could still be challenged before the Supreme Court, but the latter’s decisions are final, meaning that Torra could cease to be the head of the Catalan government, and the regional parliament would then have to choose a successor.
Upcoming decisions by European courts could further complicate the political scenario
This could prove complicated, as the combined forces of the two main separatist parties in the Catalan legislature – 34 for Together for Catalonia (JxCat) and 32 for the Catalan Republican Left (ERC) – are not enough for a majority in the 135-seat house.
The four lawmakers for the other separatist group, CUP, have announced that they would rather hold early elections than support a new regional leader. This option is also preferred by Ciudadanos (Citizens), the Catalan Socialist Party (PSC), Catalunya en Comú Podem and the Popular Party (PP).
In the event that Torra gets barred from office, the parliament would be automatically dissolved two months after the first investiture vote to appoint a new government leader. Torra’s deputy, Pere Aragonès of ERC, would become the caretaker premier and new elections would be held 40 to 60 days after being called.
Catalonia last held an election in December 2017, when the region was under direct rule from Madrid following the failed secession bid. Torra was sworn into office in May 2018.
Separatist politicians have stated that an appeal could be dealt with by February at the latest, but the average time for the Supreme Court to hand down a final decision is around one year. In the case of Artur Mas, a former Catalan premier who organized an earlier independence consultation, the process took one year and nine months.
Other unknowns
In the meantime, there are other factors that could also affect Catalan politics. On December 16, a court in Brussels will hold a hearing to decide whether former Catalan premier Carles Puigdemont is extradited to Spain to face charges of sedition over the breakaway bid. Puigdemont fled with a few government aides right after the unilateral independence declaration of October 2017, and he has since been fighting extradition to Spain, where he is wanted on sedition charges.
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) is also about to deliver a decision on Oriol Junqueras, the leader of the ERC party and Puigdemont’s former deputy. Although he has been sentenced to 13 years in prison in Spain for leading the independence push, the CJEU is deciding whether Junqueras, who successfully ran as a candidate to the European Parliament in May, has parliamentary immunity and the right to his seat as an MEP.
A decision favorable to Junqueras could extend to Puigdemont, who also picked up a seat in the European Parliament.
English version by Susana Urra.