The Spanish government is celebrating Carles Puigdemont's decision to step aside, a decision they are claiming credit for, but has scorned the petition to the UN Human Rights Committee he has announced against Spain. Spokesperson Íñigo Méndez de Vigo said that the deposed government had had "no echo on the part of the international community" in recognising the declaration of independence when asked a question on the topic in the press conference after this Friday's cabinet meeting, as if this implied that the new petition shouldn't be successful.
"I remember the senator who said that 32 countries would recognise the republic", mocked de Vigo, about statements by former judge Santi Vidal which circulated online some months ago. "Reality is what it is. They said that secession would have no repercussion, that Europe would give support to the secessionist process. There's always a discrepancy between what they say and reality," he said.
The central executive is hoping that the Parliament will invest a candidate not facing legal proceedings. As such, they don't like the suggestion of Jordi Sànchez, currently held in pretrial detention. "It seems beyond all common sense and all logic that a person in pretrial detention could exercise their responsibilities", said justice minister Rafael Catalá. He did, however, leave it up to judge Pablo Llarena to decide whether or not to allow Sànchez to attend the investiture debate: "the instructing judge is exploring the case and we'll be respectful of his decision".
De Vigo warned that the central executive wouldn't tolerate "any farce", alluding to potential attempts to invest Sànchez at a distance, as the Constitutional Court was clear about the impossibility of investing Puigdemont president at a distance or through a surrogate.
Nor do government sources see a Jordi Turull candidacy as viable because, even though he's not currently in prison, they suggest he might be "in a few months' time", as he is investigated for the alleged crime of rebellion. The sources say the central executive is not scared of new elections, as Puigdemont had warned could be forced, in case the proposal of Sànchez falls through, because that "corresponds to the Parliament", although the countdown hasn't yet started.