TODAY'S COLUMN
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NOTES
1—The 35-page UK Supreme Court ruling on the second Scottish referendum is here and their oral presentation here.
2—Puigdemont supports Sturgeon from self-imposed exile in Belgium: “All my support to the Scottish people and their institutions on the path towards indepedence”, he tweeted: “A democratic, European path, it has a right to and which it will complete despite today’s decision”.
3—”The only merit you have is to have studied Pablo Iglesias up close”, said Vox MP Carla Toscano to the Equality Minister in parliament this evening, in reference to the father of her children. An emotional Irene Montero asked for the words not to be removed from the record: “there are more of us feminists and democrats and we are going to stop this gang of fascists in their tracks with more rights”.
4—It all started yesterday in Zaragoza…Carmen Herrarte (Ciudadanos, Zaragoza, economy) said during the local finance committe meeting yesterday, in reference to Irene Montero, that “they are where they are because the alpha male impregnated them, that’s why they are ministers”. She later apologised.
5—PP to force public roll-call vote on sedition reform. Sánchez’s controversial bill will start going through parliament tomorrow afternoon. “We are going to ask for a roll-call vote”, said PP spokeswoman Cuca Gamarra: “so MPs have to personally say if we are in favour or against repealing the crime of secession”. The PP was also naming socialist MPs on Twitter in person to try to get them to vote against Sánchez.
6—Poll in 20 Minutos shows right-wing parties on course for a coalition. The latest scandals over criminal law reforms were not affecting the PSOE, the paper said, but Vox was rising again against the PP on the right.
7—The Regional High Court in Catalonia found the former separatist Speaker of the regional parliament, Roger Torrent (Esquerra), not guilty of being in contempt of the Constitutional Court in 2019 for passing a motion on the monarchy and self-determination.
8—The controversial bit of that resolution read: “[Parliament] hereby reiterates and will reiterate as many times as MPs wish to do so, its reprobation of the monarchy, its defence of the right to self-determination and the revindication of the sovereignty of the people of Catalonia to decide their political future”.
9—Torrent said that “the Regional High Court judgement is great news for freedom of expression and the right of MPs to take the initiative. The Catalan Parliament must be able to talk about everything people are interested in, including self-determination and the monarchy”.
10—The government will transfer control of traffic in Navarra to the regional police, taking it away from the Civil Guard, as previously happened in both the Basque Country and Catalonia. One Civil Guard union, AUGC, said “The blackmail is confirmed. The government is selling out civil guards and their families in Navarra to get budget votes from the heirs to ETA”. The Economy Minister said Aznar had promised to do it all the way back in 2000.
11—"The deal you did yesterday with Bilud is shameful”, said Carlos García Adanero (UPN): “it is ignominy, absolutely outrageous. With Bildu you can’t do any deals, with Bildu Batasuna, but doing a deal with Bildu Batasuna with something that concerns the Civil Guard is an insult to the Civil Guard and all other Spaniards”.
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