President Armengol once more stated the case for federalism yesterday. | Joan Torres

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Marking Constitution Day yesterday, President Armengol said that the best way to defend the Constitution is by updating it and by building a "shared project" that survives the passage of time and the "setbacks of the present".

Armengol argued that rigidity does not strengthen the Constitution or contribute to stability. "Those who cling to the past and to the success of the consensus of 1978 are no more constitutionalist than those who today honour consensus by revitalising it (the Constitution) and projecting it into the future."

Speaking at the Almudaina Palace in Palma, the president made a case for constitutional reform and for making Spain a federal state. "Why can we not advance down a federal road, live in diversity and celebrate a state that is rich in cultures, languages and history?" She called for "generous dialogue" like the one that gave birth to the Constitution after forty years of dictatorship.

Meanwhile, Mariano Rajoy was telling those gathered in Congress yesterday that he is willing to discuss constitutional reform but only when there is a clear idea as to what change is wanted. He rejected going along with reform just in order to "please" separatists.

The Rajoy government representative in the Balearics, the national government delegate Maria Salom, echoed the prime minister's words when she spoke at the Almudaina. "You cannot initiate an amendment to the Constitution simply to reward those who have tried to liquidate current legislation and national sovereignty."