In exchange for the essential votes of Catalan independence deputies, the socialist head of state had to give in to their demand for an amnesty law for their leaders.
This is what we call a political tour de force. On Thursday, November 9, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez signed an agreement with the party of Catalan separatist Carles Puigdemont. Their support, essential to his return to power, was obtained in exchange for a very controversial amnesty law which is increasing tension in the country.
Pedro Sánchez, who has been at the head of the Spanish government since June 2018, is on the verge of succeeding in his challenge to remain in power after having defied the polls which predicted his defeat during the legislative election on July 23. The socialist ultimately held up better than expected against his conservative rival from the Popular Party, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, who came first in the poll, but who was unable to be installed as Prime Minister at the end of September, due to lack of a majority in Parliament.
A potentially unstable majority
In exchange for the essential votes of Catalan independence deputies, Pedro Sánchez had to give in to their demand for an amnesty law for their leaders and activists prosecuted by the Spanish justice system because of their involvement in the organization of a referendum on the independence of Catalonia in 2017, which Spanish justice considers to be an attempt at secession.
The head of state had already pardoned, in 2021, the separatist leaders sentenced in 2019 to heavy prison sentences for their role in 2017. But this new concession from the socialist to the Catalan separatists has increased tension in the country. .
The right and extreme right have demonstrated on several occasions to denounce a “scandal”. Far-right rallies in front of the Socialist Party headquarters in Madrid ended in scuffles with the police on Monday and Tuesday.
Once reinvested as Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez will have to deal with a majority that promises to be unstable. Indeed, the party of Carles Puigdemont and the Basque nationalists of the PNV, very close to the business world, will have particular difficulty in voting for the reduction of the working week to 37.5 hours, the flagship measure of the agreement of government between the socialists and their main ally, the radical left platform Sumar. The agreement signed on Thursday should ensure “stability [du gouvernement] during the four-year legislature”assured a senior socialist leader and negotiator, Santos Cerdán.