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A KEY CATALAN separatist party has said it would allow Spain’s Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez another term as prime minister, paving the way to end months of political deadlock in the eurozone’s fourth-largest economy.
13 lawmakers from the Republican Left of Catalonia (Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, or ERC) will abstain from voting in a confidence vote in parliament next week, top party official Pere Aragones said following a meeting of its national committee, a move that allows Sanchez to stay on following two inconclusive elections since last year – one in April, and another in November.
Sanchez’s Socialists won the most seats in a repeat November general election but were weakened, falling far short of an absolute majority in Spain’s 350-seat parliament.
The Socialists have struck an agreement to form a coalition government with far-left party Podemos in what would be the first such power-sharing deal since the country returned to democracy following the death of long-time dictator Francisco Franco in 1975.
The two parties together still fall short of a majority with 155 seats in the assembly. Sanchez has already secured the support of several smaller regional parties and had been negotiating with the ERC since the November polls.
The announcement came after ERC and Socialists said in separate statements they had agreed to set up negotiations between Spain’s central government and the Catalan government to “unblock the political conflict over the future of Catalonia and establish the basis for its resolution.”
“It is a difficult, complex path. We think it is worth taking,” Aragones, Catalonia’s vice president, told reporters.
Catalonia has been rocked by sometimes violent protests after Spain’s Supreme Court in October sentenced nine Catalan leaders to lengthy jail terms over their role in staging a banned secession referendum in 2017 in the wealthy northeastern region and a subsequent declaration of independence.
The leader of the ERC, former Catalan vice president Oriol Junqueras, was among those sentenced.
Since the failed 2017 independence bid the ERC has adopted a more moderate stance, believing it is the best way to increase support for separatism in the longer term.
But it has been criticised by some parts of the separatist camp for cosying up to a government that opposes Catalan independence and fears rival separatist parties could take electoral advantage of any perceived concessions to Madrid.
Confidence vote
With the abstention of the ERC’s lawmakers, Sanchez could secure his investiture in a second confidence vote slated for Tuesday when just a simple majority is needed.
He would still lose a first confidence vote set for Sunday when an absolute majority of 176 votes is needed.
Lawmakers will begin debating Sanchez’s bid to form another government on Saturday in a rare weekend session.
Until 2015 Spain had essentially a two-party system pitting the Socialists against the conservative Popular Party (PP) but the rise of new parties has led to a more fragmented parliament that has made it harder to form a government.
Sanchez came to power in June 2018 after ousting his PP predecessor Mariano Rajoy in a no-confidence vote but he was forced to call elections in April after Catalan separatists refused to back his draft budget.
Those polls were inconclusive and he called a repeat election in November — Spain’s fourth in four years — in the vain hope of boosting his party’s standing and sparing him from relying on the Catalan separatists.
Spain’s right-wing opposition accuses Sanchez of being held “hostage” to Catalan separatists by accepting the abstention of the ERC to win the investiture vote.
“Sanchez has sold Spain in exchange for remaining in power,” the PP’s number two, Teodoro Garcia Egea, said yesterday.
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I was at it and it was spectacular
Amazing how everyone shuts up about hating Bono and about tax affairs whenever there’s tickets to be had for anU2 gig in Croker…
@Tom Tom: they only went to shout at him for a few hours and get it off their chests.
By many accounts seemed to have been a somewhat tired performance compared to previous.
@Toon Army:
Depends who you ask. For many it was their best performance on home turf in a long time
@Toon Army:
Obviously you weren’t there. It was a great gig
@Toon Army:
I’ve seen them 13 times live and this was indeed their weakest performance that I’ve seen. Bono was off his game and it was a stark contrast to their recent performances in the Point where they were simply incredible. Still Saturday was a great show and the crowd loved it.
@Nick Allen: of the 4 people I have spoken to about it, 3 say bad and 1 says good. (I’m on the bad side)
The journal should do a poll on it !
@Cicero: It was average at best. Felt they were just going through the motions
Was at it and thought it was a poor concert compared to previous U2 concerts…..especially the one in the 3 arena. With 20mins to go there was a steady stream of people leaving which speaks volumes. Agree with a previous poster that it was a tired performance from Bono
Pity the other 3 never address the fans….
@Ken Pepper: I’m struggling to think of any band where anyone but the lead singer/frontman addresses the croud.
There are plenty where they do solos but almost never actually speak to the croud.
I was there, it was a brilliant gig.
Homecoming gig? We’re U2 living permanently abroad?
I was there and can confirm lots of people leaving early.
I was one of them, the sound so poor at Lower Cusack where I was that I couldn’t even make out what Bono was saying between songs let alone when he was singing.
Ironically his voice was at its best in the toilets behind my seating area.
Won’t go to Croke park unless I have pitch tickets where I believe it was OK.
Can’t believe he STILL hasn’t found what he’s looking for.. Maybe it’s behind him.
That was the worst attempt at a heart I’ve ever seen. Looked like a box
have your say