THE new candidate for the presidency of Catalonia has said his first act in the post would be to investigate the effects of seven months under direct rule from Spain’s central government.

And Quim Torra said he wanted to arrange a meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

Rajoy brought in direct rule after the Catalan Parliament’s independence referendum last October, known as 1-O, under Article 155 of the Spanish constitution. Catalan ministers and civil servants were sacked and the measure has remained in force since.

Torra – a journalist and lawyer – was nominated by deposed president Carles Puigdemont in a video from his exile in Berlin, in a bid to end the deadlock between the wealthy north-eastern state and Rajoy’s conservative government.

He said his first move as president would be “launching a committee to investigate the consequences of direct rule” from Madrid. This would be part of an “emergency plan to both analyse what happened these past months and towards restoration [of self-government]”.

His investiture is set for today, but should he not secure an outright majority, a second vote – requiring a simple majority – will be held on Monday.

Torra said “dialogue” would be a frequently used word in his investiture speech but added that he would go further.

“I will request a meeting not only with Mariano Rajoy, whenever he wants, but also with Mr Juncker,” he told Catalan broadcaster TV3.

“I only contemplate the possibility of obeying what the Parliament of Catalonia decides.”

He said the future government of Catalonia would work on three fronts: political action in exile; the functioning of Catalan institutions such as government and local councils; and organised citizenship. One of his first steps will be to appoint a commissioner to look at the effects of Article 155 over the past seven months.

He also pledged to reinstate Catalan government policies that were removed by Madrid’s intervention.

“What will be important is that we are symbolically able to endow this legislature with the exceptional nature: hang a yellow ribbon on the facade of the Generalitat, for example,” he said.

“We need not only a strong government, but a very strong country. We’re not talking about a political crisis or a conflict, but a humanitarian crisis. We have people in prison and exile, and we should, with this government more united than ever, be able to respond to all the issues we face.”

In a statement after Torra was named, the Spanish executive said the candidate should always “respect the constitution and laws of Spain”.

Meanwhile, the number of people in favour of Catalan independence has risen to 48%, while those who want to remain part of Spain has dropped to 43.7%, according to a new poll.

The survey, published yesterday by Catalonia’s Centre for Opinion Studies (CEO), predicted that in an election pro-independence parties would retain their majority in the Catalan Parliament.

A previous CEO poll in February found support for independence had fallen to 40.8%, with those in favour of remaining rising to 53.9%.