Fragile coalition So far, the junior coalition partner — left-wing Sumar — has stood by the PSOE. However, with its majority depending on a broad array of parties including Catalan and Basque nationalists, the government’s stability is shaky. That became apparent when the Catalan separatist party Junts, Sánchez’s most restive ally, this month proposed a … Read more
A sign of regional power The Mossos d’Esquadra (its full, official name is the Policia de la Generalitat de Catalunya) was created in the early 1980s, as part of an arrangement to grant Catalonia greater regional autonomy. Its powers were broadened in the mid-1990s to take on almost all major policing duties in Catalonia except … Read more
Opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo said Sánchez was responsible for the “unbearable humiliation” of the Puigdemont escape fiasco. Feijóo called on the prime minister to fire his Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska and intelligence chief Margarita Robles. “Faced with this farce, the government cannot continue on vacation laughing at the Spanish people,” Feijóo said. But that’s … Read more
Puigdemont chose to return on the day that the Catalan parliament was voting on Socialist Salvador Illa becoming the region’s new president. “I wanted to be present during the investiture session and be able to exercise my right to speak and vote,” Puigdemont said in a video shared on X on Saturday. The former regional … Read more
Puigdemont’s lawyer, Gonzalo Boye, also spoke to RAC1 on Friday and said that the former regional president had left Spain, but he did not give further details on his whereabouts. Spain’s interior ministry had not replied to a request for comment at the time of publication. Puigdemont, the former Catalan president and figurehead of the … Read more
The former Catalan president announced his intention to return to Barcelona on Wednesday, saying he intended to be back in Barcelona for a vote on Socialist Salvador Illa becoming regional president, which would put an end to 14 years of separatist governments. Puigdemont intends to march to the Catalan parliament accompanied by his supporters. Police … Read more
That is … until now? On Wednesday, he made his big plan to reenter Spain public, saying that he has to be at the vote in parliament. Police have reacted by mobilizing to search the sewers and have even sealed off the Barcelona Zoo from the parliament grounds, which are normally connected. Take our quiz … Read more
Although Illa fell short of a governing majority, last week he secured the support of the Republican Left of Catalonia, a pro-independence party that was once allied with Puigdemont but which broke ties with him due to his constant attacks on their leaders. In exchange for Republican Left votes, Illa has promised to attempt to … Read more
“It is especially difficult to reconcile the European Union’s efforts to end impunity for embezzlers with Spanish legislators’ desire to excuse particularly grave crimes simply because they were committed by specific political leaders during a specific period of time,” the ruling reads. In a dissenting opinion, Judge Ana Ferrer proposed that Spain’s Supreme Court submit … Read more
The Socialists secured 42 out of 135 seats in the Catalan parliament, with almost all votes counted. The separatist Junts party of Carles Puigdemont, the man who as Catalan president in 2017 attempted to declare independence from Spain, came in second with 35 seats, while fellow separatists ERC won 20 seats, with others trailing further … Read more
