MADRID, Nov 10 (Reuters) – Basque nationalist party PNV announced on Friday an agreement to support the formation of a new government in Spain led by Pedro Sanchez, a process that has sparked strong protests from opponents over the possible amnesty granted to the Catalan separatists.
The agreement concluded with the PNV, as well as that announced Thursday with the Catalan independence group Junts per Catalunya, would allow Sanchez to obtain an absolute majority in Parliament during the vote which must take place next week.
“We managed to obtain a majority that will allow the inauguration of Pedro Sanchez and, therefore, we will have four years of government that will talk about what is really important for the people,” said the Acting Minister of Relations with the Parliament, Felix Bolanos, in an interview with the radio station Cadena Ser.
“We have very distant and different positions, but this agreement means that we are doing our best to understand each other. Spain and Catalonia deserve it,” he added.
The July 23 legislative elections did not give an absolute majority to any political party, and Pedro Sanchez spent weeks negotiating to obtain a majority, in particular with the left-wing Sumar alliance and Catalan and Basque nationalist groups, including most had already supported the socialist leader’s previous mandate in early 2020.
The most controversial agreement was the one concluded Thursday with Junts, the formation of Carles Puigdemont, which includes the adoption of a law granting amnesty to activists and political leaders involved in the referendum on the independence of Catalonia from 2017, illegal in the eyes of Madrid.
The possible amnesty is strongly denounced by the conservative opposition which has organized large protest demonstrations and accuses Sanchez of endangering the rule of law in Spain for his own political interest.
The mood in the country has become increasingly feverish, with protesters clashing with police every evening in front of the Socialist Party headquarters in Madrid.
According to authorities, 24 people were arrested and seven police officers were lightly injured Thursday evening as police attempted to disperse protesters. (Reporting by Belen Carreno, Emma Pinedo and Inti Landauro, Diana Mandia for the French version, editing by Blandine Hénault)
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