Socialist head of government Pedro Sánchez secured the votes of two Catalan parties for his re-election.
The controversial amnesty plan for Catalan separatists has cleared another hurdle in the Spanish parliament. The deputies of the lower house of Madrid decided on Tuesday night, with 178 votes to 172, that the bill presented by the left-wing government would be admitted for discussion. The Senate council had already given the first green light in November.
It is expected to take several months before the “Law on institutional, political and social normalization in Catalonia” is approved. The Senate will address this next. The conservative PP Popular Party, led by opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijoó, has the majority of seats there. Feijóo described the planned amnesty as a “national disgrace and an international embarrassment” in Tuesday’s debate.
Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez had promised amnesty and other concessions to the “Catalanists” in order to secure the votes of two separatist parties for his re-election in the Madrid parliament in mid-November.
The liberal Junts party, led by separatist leader Carles Puigdemont, and the left-wing ERC, led by Catalan regional president Pere Aragonès, want Catalonia to separate from Spain. But Sánchez wants to avoid this and calm the conflict through dialogue and concessions. (APA/dpa)