The new Catalan government has taken power and finally brought to an end Madrid's direct rule over Catalonia under article 155 of the Spanish constitution. Saturday's formal ceremony, in which the members of new president Quim Torra's cabinet took possession of their posts, also served as an act of homage to Catalonia's political prisoners. In contrast to the austere swearing-in of president Torra two weeks earlier, his ministers accepted their appointments in a solemn act filled with symbolism and sentiment held at the seat of the Catalan government, the Palau de la Generalitat in Barcelona.
Family members of the imprisoned and exiled Catalan political leaders - many of whom were nominated to be ministers in this new government but were unable to take up their roles due to Spanish court rulings and political manoeuvring - were present for the ceremony, in a space usually reserved for members of the government, in the front rows, with the ministers to be sworn in positioned behind them. All of the family members present, headed by Carles Puigdemont's wife, Marcela Topor, were received with sustained applause after president Torra and parliamentary speaker Roger Torrent had earlier accessed the Palau's Saló Sant Jordi to await the new ministers.
"Today article 155 comes to an end, without any euphoria, because we are very far from where we should be", said the president, insisting in his address that his government had made the commitment to go forward in accordance with the result of the referendum on 1st October and its confirmation in the election of 21st December, that is, by forming an independent state in the form of a republic. "It will not be an easy path. There are very powerful interests that want to prevent it, I have already seen that", he said.
There was no representative present at the ceremony from either Ciudadanos or the Popular Party, but the Catalan Socialists (PSC) were represented - by MPs David Pérez and Ramon Espadaler. Nor was there any representative of the acting Spanish government - with the outgoing representative of the Spanish government in Catalonia, Enric Millo, not attending.
Letters from the prisoners
The event began with the reading of letters from the Catalan ministers being held in jail and in exile, in which they renounced their posts, before the new cabinet members took possession of the roles. Family members of Lluís Puig, Josep Rull, Toni Comín, Jordi Turull, and Carme Forcadell read their letters.
"This is probably the most difficult letter I have ever written", began Jordi Turull's letter, read by his wife. All the jailed and exiled politicians declared that they were legitimate holders of their posts before renouncing their positions before the president, and they denounced their imprisonment and exile. "I ask you not to forget us", requested the former speaker of the Catalan Parliament, Carme Forcadell, in a letter read by her husband.
Silver Sant Jordi
Next, the members of the new government, starting with vice president, Pere Aragonès, took possession of their posts. The formula used for the swearing-in was: "Do you promise to fulfill faithfully in accordance with the law the obligations of the position that you assume in the service of Catalonia and with loyalty to the president of Catalonia?" On the table before them, a silver figurine of Catalonia's patron saint Sant Jordi, which usually presides over the Palau's chapel.
When it was president Torra's turn to speak, he read one by one the names and positions held by all the imprisoned and exiled politicians. "In prison or in exile, their example is our strength, and their freedom and return home are our vital objectives", he said.
Torra reiterated that the restitution of the government is the objective of all those who are part of the new cabinet. He said that the political prisoners are the "guiding light of the government" and give an example that makes the whole of Europe open its eyes. He also highlighted the suffering that the jailed leaders' situation causes for their families.
The president thanked the vice president and new ministers for their determination in deciding to take on the responsibility of their posts in the current complex conditions. "The responsibility will be ours and ours only", he added.
Quim Torra referred to the eight months that have gone by since the independence referendum on 1st October, "an act of civic commitment and generosity that fills us with pride", and he insisted on the "republican mandate" which his government assumes "for everybody", a government which "has to serve seven and a half million Catalans".
Government-to-government dialogue
A call for dialogue was again present in the president's speech. "Prime minister Pedro Sánchez, let us talk, let us discuss, let us take risks, you and us, let's sit down at the same table and talk, government to government; this situation that we are enduring cannot be continued for any longer", he asserted.
Torra explained that one of the first decisions of his government will be the creation of a commission to restore the Catalan social legislation that was suspended by the Spanish government.
The event had opened with the Catalan song El cant de la senyera and it concluded with the minister's singing another traditional tune, Ball de l'àliga.
At the conclusion of the ceremony, the newly-appointed cabinet had its first meeting, also in the Palau de la Generalitat. Meanwhile, a banner with an image of a yellow ribbon and a slogan demanding freedom for Catalonia's political prisoners was hung on the Generalitat building's façade on Plaça Sant Jaume.