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THE CATALAN QUESTION

PM and Mas will negotiate in secret to break independence impasse

Politicians will turn to trusted aides to deal with Catalan question as Madrid keeps low profile on upcoming Diada "national day" show of force

After months of blistering tensions, which were often aired in public, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and Catalan regional leader Artur Mas have agreed to let their most trusted aides seek to unblock the political impasse that has put Catalonia in a bitter dispute with the central government over its proposed independence referendum, Popular Party (PP) sources said.

The two leaders met in secret on August 29 but they didn't find any common ground over the regional government's call to hold a vote on independence, the sources revealed. However, they did agree to allow senior aides to discreetly work together to find a solution and avoid an institutional crisis, which could pit the central government against the region.

For months, the Rajoy government has warned Mas and his supporters that holding the referendum without congressional approval would be unconstitutional.

The man that will represent Mas at the behind-the-scenes talks is his chief of staff Jordi Vilajoana, a trusted aide who is seen as a strong negotiator. But more importantly Vilajoana is viewed in a positive light by Unió Democràtica, Mas's political partner in the Catalan nationalist CiU bloc, PP sources said.

The talks will come after Catalonia celebrates its national day, the Diada, on September 11, when hundreds of thousands of people are expected to pour onto the streets to demand an independence referendum. It was at last year's Diada that Mas's drive to hold the referendum was sparked after scores of Catalans converged on the streets of Barcelona and other cities across the region in support of independence. Rajoy’s government has kept a low profile so far in relation to the planned show of force for the Diada.

The secret meeting between Rajoy and Mas served to establish contact between the two leaders — something that hasn't existed in months — according to PP sources. The central government has seen as a goodwill gesture the announcement by Mas last week to postpone holding the referendum to 2016 in order to try to get the central government's approval - a move that has angered pro-independence parties.

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