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Well that little foray into pretending that Catalonia was an independent country is now over.

The Catalonian leftists in leadership bungled the post election momentum they had and quite predictably, Spain’s central government is coming in to remove them and end the autonomy of the region. It will be governed directly by the central government in Madrid.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy announced Saturday morning that he will in fact be invoking Article 155 of the Spanish Constitution. The move will send the measure to the Spanish parliament where it will almost assuredly pass, leading to Catalonia’s government to cease to have legal authority in the region.

Rajoy stated as he announced the invoking of Article 155 that this move will “restore the rule of law, coexistence and the economic recovery and to ensure that elections could be held in normal circumstances.” He added “we are not ending Catalan autonomy but we are relieving of their duties those who have acted outside the law.”

He blamed the “conscious and systematic rebellion and disobedience” of Catalonian’s government under Carles Puigdemont as the reason for invoking Article 155.

The Catalonian government had been expanding their taxing authority at home. Catalonia currently has no real way of raising money as their taxes and fees are collected by Madrid’s government and then distributed back to the state for their services. All their progress will now be erased and returned to the old system.

The Catalonian government had also been establishing embassies in foreign countries in preparations for an eventual declaration of independence. These will now be closed.

Carles Puigdemont’s Catalonian regional government will be stripped of its powers and dismissed with the corresponding agencies from the national government taking over the powers of the regional government.

The Spanish government issued a statement on what invoking Article 155 would look like, they will be enacting “a series of measures will be introduced regarding sensitive issues such as security and public order, financial management, taxation, the budget and telecommunications.”

Spain’s citizens inside the region will be stripped of the legal authority to call for elections, but Prime Minister Rajoy stated that they hoped to have them within six months after they have purged the government there of those who have committed seditious acts against Spain.

This will have wider implications in other countries like France, England, Italy, and other locations where there are several large regions which have been seeing increasing movement towards favoring independence. The unrest that this move will create will undoubtedly inflame the tensions across Europe and add another crisis for the continent to face.