Foreign Digest: Spain: Catalonia Update; and Italy: Election Law Enactment

Update: Catalonia

            Last week, after dissolving the Catalan government following the referendum for independence for Catalonia in October, the Spanish Government established direct Spanish rule in Catalonia through the Vice President, with elections for a new provincial government scheduled in December.  The Catalan Parliament declared independence in the meantime.  Catalan leaders, facing arrest for violating the Spanish Constitution, have fled to Belgium, where they may be subjected to extradition. 

Many businesses addressed in the prosperous province have relocated to elsewhere in Spain.  There was another large pro-union rally in Barcelona last week.  A recent public opinion poll suggests a large plurality of Catalans favor greater autonomy over independence or maintaining the status quo.  Like the European Union, the United States is encouraging Spanish unity.

Italian election law enactment

Italy’s new election law was approved by the Italian Parliament and signed into law by the President at the end of last week.  Its main purpose was to make the elections for both the lower Chamber of Deputies and upper Senate chambers of Parliament similar.  Over one-third of the parliamentary seats will be directly elected first-past-the-post in single-member districts and nearly two thirds will be awarded proportionally in regional districts. 

The law, which is designed to encourage coalition-building, sets a threshold of 3% of the proportional vote for parties and 10% for blocks to hold any seats in Parliament.  Like the old law, the new one still uses party lists for proportional allocation, meaning voters do not have control over which party candidate is elected.  

The law was supported by the ruling center-left party, their center-right junior coalition partners and the main conservative and far-right parties.  It was opposed by the populists, the far-left and others.  The law is intended to prevent a victory for the anti-establishment populists, who insist upon ruling alone, which would be difficult without a governing majority.  The ruling party and the populists are about even in the public opinion polls for a plurality, but the combined conservative and far-right bloc would likely obtain the lead.  Elections are expected in the spring.