Up to 100,000 people came to the demonstration in the Spanish capital on Sunday. The participants opposed the negotiations that are being conducted by the outgoing Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez with the leaders of the Catalan regional parties.
Sánchez needs Catalan MPs to form a new government with their help; however, in return for support, the Catalan parties demand amnesty for imprisoned or accused persons who participated in the organization of the referendum on Catalan independence in 2017. The vote then led to a major political crisis and the Spanish Constitutional Court declared it unconstitutional.
“A coup is being prepared from the government palace,” said Santiago Abascal, head of the far-right party Vox, which called the rally, among others at the demonstration. Slogans such as “Pedro Sánchez is a traitor” or “No amnesty” could be seen in the crowd.
Parliamentary elections in Spain were held on July 23 and the right-wing People’s Party (PP) narrowly won with 33 percent of the vote. However, its leader Alberto Feijóo failed in his first attempt to form a government, as he was unable to secure a majority. Prime Minister Sánchez, whose Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) received only 1.5 percentage points less votes in the elections, has already concluded an alliance with the far-left Sumar grouping (12 percent), but for majority support he needs to win over regional parties including the Catalan ones. And they condition support precisely on amnesties.
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2023-10-29 14:29:23
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