Pedro Sánchez reaches controversial coalition agreement with the Catalan separatists

White smoke in Brussels, where negotiations on a Spanish coalition agreement took place in recent days between the socialist party of outgoing Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez (PSOE) and the Catalan separatist party of Carles Puigdemont (Junts).

The agreement revolves around a law that provides amnesty for convicted Catalan separatists who demanded independence from Catalonia in an illegal referendum in 2017. The Catalans made this amnesty a condition for their support for a new coalition under Sánchez.

It is now stated on paper that the controversial amnesty law applies to all – politicians and citizens – who participated in the illegal referendum and the pursuit of regional independence.

New phase

In the four-page agreement further states that this heralds a new phase in “resolving a conflict over the political future of Catalonia”. Both parties acknowledge that the pact was born of mutual distrust and “profound differences of opinion”, but that this must change.

In addition to amnesty, the agreement also contains other agreements. Junts still wants a self-determination referendum, something the PSOE completely rejects. However, Sánchez’s socialist party wants “the full development of and respect for the institutions and the institutional, cultural and linguistic uniqueness of Catalonia.” Consider, for example, the right to speak the Catalan language in all government institutions.

Unrest

The amnesty law has sparked massive protests across the country in recent weeks. Tens of thousands of right-wing demonstrators took to the streets, following calls from right-wing politicians such as Vox leader Santiago Abascal and Partido Popular leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo. The anger partly stems from the fact that the right-wing Conservative Popular Party won the elections on July 23, but that party leader Feijóo was unable to form a majority coalition. Then Sánchez was allowed to try by King Felipe. The criticism of Sánchez is now that he is pushing through the amnesty law because he wants to stay in power no matter what, even if that means that, according to Abascal and Feijóo, he is “selling out the nation to the Catalans.”

The unrest extends beyond Spain. On Wednesday evening, even before the new coalition agreement, European Commissioner Didier Reynders requested the Spanish Minister of Justice Félix Bolaños by letter for text and explanation about the amnesty law. It is remarkable that the Commission is sounding the alarm before the details of the law are known. A spokesperson emphasized on Thursday that Brussels had been approached by “a large number of citizens and stakeholders” about the Spanish law and was therefore forced to request additional information.

In his response, Bolaños emphasized Thursday evening that if the law were passed, he would provide all information. Whether this will actually lead to a legal conflict between Madrid and Brussels remains to be seen. Until now, there has been little interest in Brussels to get involved in the highly politically sensitive Catalan issue. Much depends on the details of the law and how much it leads to further polarization in Spain.

Stemming

It is expected that a vote will be held in parliament next week investiture, a ballot in which Sánchez needs 176 votes (out of 350) to be officially elected as prime minister. If Sánchez does not receive 176 votes in the first round, a second vote will follow within 48 hours in which obtaining more yes than no votes is sufficient. If that attempt also fails, new elections will follow on January 14. But with Puigdemont on board, the road to the premiership seems to be completely open for Sánchez.

MMV from Clara van de Wiel

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