PEOPLE in Scotland will be watching events in Spain “with great interest” after Catalan separatists won a majority of seats in the regional parliament, according to SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon.
Sturgeon said the failed bid for Scottish independence in a legally binding vote last year should set an international example of how secessionist votes should be conducted.
Parties pushing for independence from Spain won a majority of seats in Catalonia’s regional parliament in a ballot but failed to secure more than 50 per cent of the popular vote in an election they had hoped would give them a clear, unequivocal mandate for secession.
The government of prime minister Mariano Rajoy has made it clear it will use all legal methods to prevent the independence of Catalonia, which accounts for nearly one-fifth of Spain’s economic output.
Speaking at a Scottish Council for Development and Industry event in Edinburgh, Sturgeon said: “I congratulate the parties that have won the election and wish them well for the future.
“I have to say, though, what happens in terms of Catalonia and Spain, and the relationship between the two, is a matter for the people of Catalonia, just as Scotland’s constitutional future is a matter for the people of Scotland.
“I’m sure many people in Scotland, given our recent experience of a referendum, will be looking with great interest at what is happening in Catalonia.
“We know from the experience of the referendum that many Catalans look with great interest at what happens in Scotland, but we are two different countries with different circumstances, different situations, different experiences – and the future of Catalonia will be decided by the people of Catalonia.”
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