Getty Images Calalan leaders hold signs at a demonstration Saturday in support of two detained separatists.The Spanish government has revealed plans to remove the leaders of Catalonia and to take control of the region until early elections can be held, as it tries to stifle a push for Catalan independence. The move, which needs to be approved by lawmakers, would grant Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy unprecedented powers in his bid to halt Catalan authorities from declaring a split from Spain. What’s the latest? Rajoy said Saturday the government wants to dismiss the Catalan president and his cabinet “in order to protect the general interest.” The powers of those officials will be assumed by ministers in central government until new regional elections can be held, hopefully within six months. That would let central government take temporary control of bodies such as Catalonia’s police, as well as its health and education systems, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Security, public order and financial management are key focuses of the measures, the report said. “The government has had to apply Article 155 of the constitution,” Rajoy said. “It was not our wish, it was not our intention — it never was. And I think public opinion knows that.”via