British newspaper The Guardian says that Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy should "at all costs" avoid triggering article 155 of the Spanish Constitution, under which Catalonia's home rule would be suspended. In an editorial entitled "Time to talk", the newspaper warns Rajoy that cornering the Catalan president Carles Puigdemont could be a "high risk" strategy, and reminds him of the words spoken by European Council president, Donald Tusk, that this crisis can only be resolved "through the force of argument, not the argument of force".
The newspaper regrets that the Spanish PM has not offered any apologies for "police behaviour" on October 1st, "when the rest of Spain and Europe watched aghast as voters were met with truncheons and rubber bullets".
The Guardian also regrets that Rajoy has not moved from his posture of refusing dialogue while Puigdemont's "hopes" rest in some type of international mediation - which until now the EU has refused "for fear of appearing to endorse what Spain’s constitutional court has declared an unlawful vote".
The newspaper considers that the decision of Puigdemont "to pause" the declaration of independence is "tactical and understandable", and it sets out the weaknesses of the Catalan president's position, mentioning the major companies that are shifting business addresses, the uncertainties in the economy and a referendum turn-out of "only 43%".
On the other hand, the editorial continues, Mariano Rajoy seems determined to win a "total victory", instead "of attempting to negotiate", in spite of the warning from European Council president Donald Tusk, who said that the crisis could only be solved "through the force of the argument, not the argument of force".
Because of this, The Guardian thinks that the "smart move" now would be "to lower the temperature", and this means that "both sides have to make concessions". "At all costs", adds the newspaper, Rajoy must avoid implementing article 155 of the Spanish Constitution. This would risk "precipitating the situation from a constitutional crisis into a catastrophe", it affirms.