Experts react: Catalan elections

Catalonia held elections on 27 September, with the poll being framed by several parties as a de facto vote on Catalan independence. The final result produced a majority of seats in the Catalan Parliament for pro-independence parties, with these parties securing 47.8 per cent of the votes cast. We asked some of EUROPP’s contributors for their reaction to the result and what it means for Catalonia and Spain going forward. Jonathan Hopkin: “The elections have produced a very complex outcome” Luis Moreno: “The Spanish elections in December will be crucial in determining what happens next” Alejandro Quiroga: “Artur Mas might have more pressing issues than the declaration of independence in the short term” Jose Javier Olivas: “Unilateral solutions, even when they seek to impose the ‘will of the majority’, are unlikely to deliver satisfactory results in the long run” Karlo Basta: “All sides have at least some leverage, and the true commitments of none are fully known, confounding any reliable predictions” Joan Costa Font: “The independence cause has attained an exceptional result, now it is time to either negotiate a referendum or, failing this, prepare for an orderly break up“ Mireia Borrell Porta: “A referendum has now become unavoidable”