Former Barcelona boss Peps up Catalan election campaign

FORMER Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola has lent his support to a coalition of Catalan pro-independence parties, and will stand as a symbolic candidate in the regional election in September.
The man currently in charge at Bayern Munich has been a prominent campaigner for Catalan independence for some time, and his name will now appear on the list of candidates for the umbrella group Convergencia y Esquerra (Convergence and Left), which brings together Cataluña’s ruling party, regional president Artur Mas’ CDC, and the Catalan Republican Left.
Guardiola is likely to occupy an unwinnable position at the end of the list, his standing being a token act of support rather than a genuine effort to be elected to the Catalan parliament. The decision has already won worldwide coverage for the election, which the Convergencia y Esquerra is aiming to turn into a referendum on independence, having been refused permission to hold a legal vote on the question.
Last Thursday (July 16) Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said unequivocally: “There will be no Catalan independence, and Cataluña is not going to leave Spain or Europe.”
Convergencia y Esquerra is to announce its list of candidates officially on Monday July 20, although Guardiola will not attend the press conference as he is on a pre-season tour of China with Bayern Munich.