Spain to impose direct rule if Puigdemont tries to rule remotely in Belgium

SPANISH PM Mariano Rajoy has threatened to impose direct rule on Catalunya if ousted leader Carles Puigdemont attempts to rule the region from his home in Belgium.

This comes a week after separatist leaders agreed to re-installed Puigdemont as Catalunya’s president of government but now the Spanish government has weighed in.

“Parliamentary rules are very clear. They do not contemplate the possibility of a [parliamentary] presence that is not in person,” said Spanish government spokesman Inigo Mendez de Vigo.

“This aspiration is a fallacy, it’s totally unrealistic and it goes against the rule books and common sense.”

Puigdemont is currently living in Belgium in exile where he fled following charges of sedition, rebellion, and misuse of public funds.

The Catalunya parliament will convene for their first session on January 17 to reinstate a new local government.