Catalunya goes to the polls

Standing for president are the now-ex leader Carles Puigdemont from the party Junts per Catalunya ('Together for Catalunya'), who is currently exiled in Belgium and knows he will be arrested immediately if he sets foot on Spanish soil again; Xavier Domènech of Catalunya En Comú; socialist leader Miquel Iceta; Ciudadanos' leader Inés Arrimadas, and PP boss Xavier García Albiol, among others.

Iceta's electoral campaign is focused entirely on reaching agreements between the different political parties at regional and State level in order to get Catalunya back on an even keel, whilst Sra Arrimadas has centred on education, health and the economy – and, naturally, the fact that the independence battle was 'illegal', or against Spain's Constitution.

If either get into power, no attempt at secession would get off the ground, as both parties disagree with the move.

Albiol speaks of 'stability' and 'legality', echoing the words of his counterpart in national government, Spain's president Mariano Rajoy.

Domènech's programme is the most left-wing and pro-social of all, whilst Puigdemont continues with his separatist ambitions and rails against the State's having triggered Article 155 of the Constitution, placing Catalunya under national government rule.

A win for Puigdemont, with or without a majority formed by pro-secession parties, would mean the separatism issue is not dead and will continue to lurk in the background at best or, as is more likely, remain right on the forefront.

Rajoy has already threatened the pro-independence parties, saying they 'know what will happen' if they 'operate outside the law'.

In the event of Ciudadanos, the PP or the socialists gaining power, particularly in a majority, Catalunya's independence bid will cease to be an issue, since those in favour of the region's becoming a separate country will not be in a position to forge ahead.

This is the first time in Spain's democratic history that a regional election has been forced by the central government.

Rajoy has said that if the anti-independence side wins, Article 155 will cease to apply.