With 70 seats, the pro-independence parties obtained an absolute majority in the Parliament of Catalonia in the election of 21st December and, as a result, are entitled to hold the speaker's position in the Catalan chamber, a majority of its presiding Board and, subsequently, to form the next government of Catalonia for the next four years. This is what Catalans voted for two weeks ago and their will has to be respected.
Although this may seem obvious, it is good to remember, since the political circumstances in Catalonia are exceptional and the associated media circus could lead us to start considering it normal to take advantage of the fact that three MPs are in jail - Junqueras, Sànchez and Forn - and five others in Brussels - Puigdemont, Comín, Serret, Ponsatí and Puig. If on the day of the vote for the speaker of Parliament this were still the situation for the eight MPs mentioned, the current majority of 70 seats would be reduced to 62, facing a possible opposing majority of 65 seats if the MPs of the article 155 parties (57 in total) are augmented with the 8 deputies of the equidistant Catalonia in Common group.
In these conditions, the three 155 parties Citizens (Cs), Socialists (PSC) and Populars (PP) have been doing sums to find out what would happen if the three MPs were kept in jail and were unable to vote and have even looked at the option of "attracting the Commons", perhaps in exchange for offering them the position of speaker or deputy speaker if that were enough to prevent the pro-independence group from chairing Parliament and gaining a majority on the chamber's presiding Board. The Commons have avoided providing a direct answer and have only said they will not support a speaker from the Citizens party.
Beyond the travesty that it represents to try and win via article 155 all that the Catalans did not want to give them at the polls, we should ask - at least of the Commons - for the deactivation of the movement by those political forces that want to exploit judicial decisions to destroy the result of the Catalan election. Political contortionism also has its limits, even though there are hooligans who applaud more and more loudly as the movements become more and more impossible.