Rajoy and Puigdemont, key players in Catalan crisis

MADRID: Spain's Senate will meet Friday to approve measures proposed by the central government to take over Catalonia's powers in a bid to halt the region's independence drive.
Here is a look at the two leading adversaries in this crisis: Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and Catalonia's separatist leader Carles Puigdemont.
Mariano Rajoy
The 62-year-old leader of the conservative Popular Party (PP) has served as Spain's prime minister since December 2011.
With a reputation as a political survivor, Rajoy is known for his strategy of playing for time to wear down his foes.
He began a second term last November after the left tore itself apart during 10 months in which Spain had no government following inconclusive elections.
He now heads a minority government backed by the centrist Ciudadanos, founded in Catalonia as an anti-independence party.
The premier's detractors accuse him of failing to stop separatist sentiment from surging in Catalonia. Some say he even encouraged it after his party successfully pushed for the partial annulment of a 2006 statute of Catalan autonomy.
That statute, negotiated with the then-ruling Socialists, had given the region expanded powers and described Catalonia as a "nation" within Spain.
Many Catalans viewed the episode as a humiliation.
Rajoy argues he could not give his approval for a Catalan independence referendum because it violates Spain's constitution, which declares the country indivisible.
He told parliament Wednesday that suspending Catalonia's autonomy was "the only possible response" to Puigdemont's independence push — a move some fear could spark unrest.

Carles Puigdemont
The 54-year-old conservative president of Catalonia, a former journalist, has advocated for independence since his youth.
The former mayor of Girona became head of the regional government in January 2016, replacing fellow conservative Artur Mas who was mistrusted by far-left separatists.
Puigdemont is under pressure from hardcore separatists to declare independence in defiance of the central government.
The separatist leadership says voters who took part in a banned secession referendum on Oct 1 overwhelmingly backed breaking away from Spain.
But turnout was just 43% as Catalans in favour of remaining in Spain mostly boycotted the ballot, which did not meet international standards.
Puigdemont on Thursday ruled out fresh regional elections as a way to ease the crisis and left it up to Catalonia's regional parliament to decide whether to proceed with a declaration of independence.
He also warned in a letter to the Senate that the crisis will escalate if Madrid takes over Catalonia's powers.
Puigdemont has said he is willing to go to jail over his separatist drive.
He is under investigation for alleged civil disobedience, abuse of office, and misuse of public funds for staging the plebiscite. — AFP