Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez will obtain the confidence of deputies this Thursday to remain at the head of a deeply divided country in the face of his decision to grant an amnesty law to Catalan separatists in exchange for their support. In power since 2018, the socialist is guaranteed to obtain 179 votes in a vote scheduled for the day, a number greater than the absolute majority set at 176.
The Prime Minister has had to negotiate in all directions in recent weeks to seal agreements with several regionalist groups, whose support is crucial in the absence of a clear majority in Parliament. In particular, he had to discuss with the party of Catalan separatist Carles Puigdemont, who has been living in Belgium for six years to escape the legal proceedings launched against him for having led the attempted secession of Catalonia in 2017.
Smiles
Carles Puigdemont has obtained from the socialists the upcoming adoption of an amnesty law for hundreds of separatists pursued by the courts, which will allow him to return to Spain. Rejected, according to several polls, by a majority of Spaniards, this amnesty brought hundreds of thousands of people into the streets on Sunday, at the call of the PP. A new mobilization, in which the leaders of the PP and the far-right Vox party will participate, is planned for Saturday in Madrid.
“It’s been forty-six years [depuis la fin de la dictature] that you say that Spain is breaking. It was broken because of the Constitution, because of the status of the autonomous provinces, because of the PSOE-ETA negotiations, because of Sanchez’s motion of censure, because of the PSOE-Podemos coalition, quipped in front of the Assembly, Wednesday, Gabriel Rufian, spokesperson for ERC, the left-wing separatists, targeting right-wing deputies. Now it is breaking because of the amnesty and, perhaps, because Girona is leader of La Liga. » Small smirks from certain deputies, and silence.