The manoeuvre by the losers of the elections to Barcelona's Chamber of Commerce, only a few hours before the meeting to constitute the institution's new board, with Joan Canadell at its head, is an authentic ambush aimed at preventing the victorious pro-independence ticket grouped around the Eines de país (Tools of the country) list from taking power. There is no objective reason for the legal actions taken by financier Carles Tusquets and lawyer Ramon Masià who, along with about twenty businesspeople, are trying to prevent what in theory is inevitable, according to the Catalan ministry of enterprise.
It is obvious that neither Tusquets nor Masià are the real artifices of the manoeuvre and, in any case, they could be only beneficiaries after an operation put together in much grander offices which, from the moment it took place, refused to accept the overwhelming victory of Eines de país. Although the legal actions initiated by the plaintiffs apparently have goals that will be adjusted to match the position which the public prosecutors or judges end up taking, it seems likely that the true objective is to stop the new board from engaging in any major decision-making for however long it might take for a final resolution to be given.
That is why the intellectual authors of this judicial initiative have gone directly to alleging a violation of fundamental rights, which requires a rapid decision, and even the application of precautionary measures. That is, the Chamber of Commerce is to have a '155' applied to it - with normal autonomy suspended, as if it were article 155 of the Constitution - limiting the new leadership to carry out day-to-day management, payment of wages, holding of events, issuing of statements... but no decision that transcends this tiny sphere of power.
When the so-called Upper Diagonal lost control of the Chamber of Commerce in the May 9th vote, it became immediately clear that they would not accept their defeat. Taking the issue to the courts more than a month later suggests that they have looked very hard at the buttons they need to push so that the initiative will bear fruit.