POLITICAL turmoil and Spain seem to be virtually inseparable these days and Sunday’s latest general election – the fourth in as many years – appears to have done nothing to quell that with the collapse of one party and a shock rise in support for the far-right Vox complicating an already messy situation.
The Socialist party of acting prime minister Pedro Sanchez again won the most seats – 120 – in Sunday’s poll, but was again short of a majority in the 350-seat chamber.
Sanchez called the election after failing to reach agreement to form a government with his closest allies, the left-wing Podemos, in the last parliament and he may have to woo them again if he wants to become PM.
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However, the biggest bombshell of the night came with the success of the populist and anti-migrant Vox, which became the parliament’s third force with 52 seats, behind the Socialists and the conservative Popular Party (PP), which won 88 seats.
The surge in support for Vox and the PP capitalised on Spanish nationalist sentiment which had been stirred up by the Socialists’ handling of the independence conflict in Catalonia, where Esquerra Republicana (ERC) again came out on top among Catalan parties, although it dropped two seats to 13.
Catalan Socialists (PSC) were second, holding on to the 12 seats won in the previous election in April.
However, the pro-indy bloc in the Spanish Congress rose from April, with Together for Catalonia (JxCat) increasing its seats by one, to eight, and the far-left CUP entering the Spanish parliament for the first time with two seats.
It means that pro-indy parties now have a total of 23 seats in the Spanish parliament, below the 50% threshold of all the available Catalan seats, but an all-time high in a Spanish election.
The Citizens party lost 47 seats, returning a dismal 10, which triggered the resignation of party leader Albert Rivera, who is also quitting politics.
He said: “I have been a national deputy for four years and cannot be assumed to be a Congress deputy only for a [salary].”
Catalan Foreign Minister, Alfred Bosch, tweeted that the republican parties in Catalonia were stronger than ever, adding: “Catalan pro-independence movement will not disappear. Pedro Sanchez only has one way out: #sitandtalk.”
Many Catalans were angry at last month’s Supreme Court prison sentences totalling 100 years on nine pro-indy leaders over the 2017 referendum. And yesterday, a group known as Democratic Tsunami, resumed their protests over the jail terms by blocking the main motorway between France and Spain.
In a statement, the group said: “The state has made it clear that if people use their bodies to defend their rights, they will respond with direct police violence against the people … That is why Tsunami Democràtic suggests to change one’s body for one’s vehicle. They propose a massive, effective and precise action, and to exercise the rights and deactivate violent repression at the same time.”
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