MADRID (Reuters) – The president of the interim Spanish government Pedro Sanchez defended his plan for amnesty for Catalan separatists on Wednesday during a heated debate in Parliament, on the eve of his announced inauguration for a new four-year term.
Assured of the support of the independence parties Junts per Catalunya and Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC, Republican Left of Catalonia) thanks to this amnesty project, as well as the support of other regional parties, Pedro Sanchez should cross, with 179 votes out of 350, the absolute majority in the Congress of Deputies, the lower house of Cortes.
“There is no prosperity in discord,” said the head of government, in power since 2018, to elected officials gathered in Madrid.
“We must make an effort for coexistence and forgiveness,” he pleaded. He said he was convinced that “a united Spain is a better Spain”, provoking grimaces of disapproval from certain elected Catalan separatists who have not given up on obtaining the independence of their region via a referendum, despite the failure of the 2017 secession attempt.
The amnesty bill should concern hundreds of political leaders and separatist activists involved in the self-determination referendum organized at the time and deemed illegal by the Spanish courts.
On the right, where Pedro Sanchez is accused of selling off Spain’s sovereignty, insults were thrown during the speech of the leader of the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party), described as a “liar” and “without embarrassment”.
Alberto Nunez Feijoo, the leader of the Popular Party (conservative), which is leading the fight against the amnesty project, denounced the “pathological ambition” and “political corruption” of the president of the outgoing government.
“He didn’t get support from anyone, he bought it by signing checks that we will have to repay,” he said.
“History will not pardon you, I can assure you,” he added.
Alberto Nunez Feijoo, whose party came first in the legislative elections last July without obtaining an absolute majority, failed to bring together a government coalition and obtain nomination in a vote at the end of September, paving the way to the appointment of Pedro Sanchez to form a government.
The socialist leader spent weeks negotiating a deal with the left-wing Sumar alliance and smaller regional parties.
The amnesty agreement sparked a wave of demonstrations across Spain called by the right and the far right. According to the authorities, 80,000 people gathered in Madrid on Sunday, while thousands more took part in demonstrations in Granada and Seville in particular.
(Report by Belen Carreno, Miguel Gutierrez, Emma Pinedo and David Latona; French version Victor Goury-Laffont and Jean-Stéphane Brosse)
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