Spanish parliament begins two-day debate for Sánchez’s re-election

O socialist party (PSOE), at the head of the Government since 2018, was the second most voted in the July legislative elections and Sánchez is preparing to be reappointed head of the Government with the support of eight parties, in a ‘contraption’ of left and right formations , regionalists, nationalists and independenceists.

The PSOE will take over the government in coalition with Somar, a platform of 15 parties and movements to the left of the socialists, led by the current Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz.

In recent weeks, the PSOE has also closed agreements with six other parties to guarantee the viability of the new government through parliament: Canary Coalition (CC), Galician Nationalist Bloc (BNG), Together for Catalonia (JxCat), Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC ), EH Bildu (from the Basque Country) and the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV, in its Spanish acronym).

This support guarantees Sánchez, from the outset, the ‘yes’ of an absolute majority of 179 deputies in his re-election as prime minister, against the already announced ‘no’ of 171 right-wing and extreme-right parliamentarians, in a vote that will take place on Thursday -fair.

The agreements that the PSOE signed with the two Catalan parties are the most controversial, as they include an amnesty for people involved in the independence movement in Catalonia between 2012 and 2023, which culminated in a unilateral declaration of independence in October 2017.

The amnesty is opposed by right-wing parties and various entities and sectors, including judges and prosecutors, who have warned of the possibility of an attack on the principle of separation of powers, the independence of Justice and the rule of law.

The European Commission also asked the Spanish government for “detailed information” about the amnesty, as it was raising “serious concerns”.

The amnesty has also been challenged on the streets, in daily demonstrations called on social media and in protests organized by the PP, such as those that took place on Sunday in 52 Spanish cities and mobilized two million people, according to the party, and 450 thousand, according to security authorities.

The PSOE has stated that this amnesty is constitutional and aims to return a political conflict to the political sphere and that “the dejudicialization” of the process that has been experienced in Catalonia over the last ten years is the best way to recover coexistence between Spaniards and “heal wounds” .

In the last legislature, the PSOE already pardoned independentists who were in prison and has highlighted that tension in Catalonia has since decreased, there is currently no unilateral self-determination movement and the separatist parties lost all votes in successive elections.

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