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Pro-independence Catalan party Esquerra Republicana has proposed the Spanish election on 28th April be considered a plebiscite to choose between the monarchy and a republic, like the 1931 general election. On the first official day of the campaign, the party has revealed a new manifesto proposal: as well as proposing a self-determination referendum for Catalonia, they'll also propose a referendum on the monarchy.

The announcement was made by the campaign's visible face, Gabriel Rufián, second on their list of candidates, at a news breakfast at 'Europe Forum. Catalan Stand'. He clarified that they would propose the self-determination referendum in talks between the Spanish and Catalan governments, whilst the monarchy referendum would involve supporting Podemos' initiative in the Congress.

Hours later, they visualised this proposal in a presentation to the media at Barcelona's Moll de la Fusta. Marta Rosique, from the party's youth wing and 7th on ERC's list of candidates for Congress for Barcelona, alongside fellow candidates Joan Josep Nuet and Mirella Cortés, tore a photo of the king to show another poster beneath with one of their campaign mottos: "Va de Repúblic" ("It's about Republic").

Rosique called on the independence movement to win the election within Catalonia and not allow a "monarchist party like PSC" to win. She said that Felipe VI was a "continuation of Francoism" and called for them to "crush the '78 regime".

The motif of ripping images, including the king's, also appears in the party's official campaign advert, presented at midnight to coincide with the official start of the election campaign.

According to a survey published last week, the vast majority of Catalans would prefer a republic to the monarchy.