Rajoy asks that Rubalcaba’s successor continue rejecting Catalonia’s secession process

The president of the Spanish government, Mariano Rajoy, wants the successor to former PSOE leader Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba to maintain a “similar position” and to stay in direct contact with his leadership with respect to the Catalan sovereignty process and in complete rejection of the referendum, once PSOE’s situation is resolved. Rajoy made the comments during his closing remarks at the Campus FAES held this weekend in Guadarrama. FAES is a Madrid-based conservative liberal ideology think tank, with strong ties to the Rajoy’s PP party, led by former prime minister José María Aznar.

At Aznar’s side, Rajoy made it clear he wants PSOE—which will choose its new Secretary General next Sunday to replace Pérez Rubalcaba—to continue to share his party’s strategy against the Catalan process.

With respect to the November 9th referendum, Rajoy insisted that “it cannot be held and it won’t be held”. “It’s illegal and it’s something that at any rate would have to be decided on by the whole of the Spanish population, just as the Constitution so clearly says.”