Leading newspaper The New York Times has expressed some surprise at the harshness with which Spain has decided to apply article 155 of its Constitution in Catalonia, when the US daily had been told that the application would be more limited. In a report explaining that Spanish PM Mariano Rajoy wishes to remove Catalan president Carles Puigdemont from power, the paper affirms that the decision was "unexpected", and defined it as a "forceful move" to stop the independence movement.
The Times reported on Rajoy's press conference, ending with the explanation that Spanish PM gave, putting the blame for what has happened on Puigdemont. Rajoy added: "This is something I have never faced in my many years in politics, but I did not choose this adversary".