Spanish PM sets out timetable as Catalunya’s new parliament to convene in January 17

SPAIN’S PM Mariano Rajoy has said the new Catalan parliament will hold its first session on January 17. 

In an effort to reinstate a local government in the financial powerhouse, Rajoy has said that a vote to elect a new president must take place within 10 days of the parliament convening on the 17th.

Although political analysts say electing a new president may take months to materialise.

“I hope that as soon as possible we will be able to have a Catalan government that is open to dialogue and able to relate to all Catalans, not just half of them,” Mr Rajoy said in an end-of-year address to the nation today.

It follows hot on the heels of the result of the December 21 election, which Madrid deemed illegal, where a grouping of separatists headed by ousted Catalan President Carles Puigdemont regained a slim parliamentary majority.