Politics

Why It’s Not Over in Catalonia

The plan to restore permanent stability to the rebel region now hinges on a knife-edge election.

A Catalan independence supporter flies a Catalan Estelada flag outside the regional government offices in Barcelona.

Photographer: Angel Garcia/Bloomberg
Lock
This article is for subscribers only.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has two piles of problems on his desk, an associate joked: those that have solved themselves and those that will solve themselves if they are given enough time.

There’s already evidence, though, that the would-be nation of Catalonia won’t just go away as the most troubling issue facing the country, its economy and Rajoy’s six-year premiership.