Voters in Catalonia headed to the polls on Sunday to cast their votes in snap regional elections that will gauge the strength of the waning independence movement and show whether Spain’s socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s conciliatory approach is working. There is.
The elections were called in March by Catalonia President Pere Aragonés, a member of the moderate pro-independence Catalan Republican Left Party (ERC), after the opposition rejected a budget proposed by Catalonia’s minority government. It was done.
The ERC had been running a coalition government with the centre-right pro-independence party Together for Catalonia (Yunts), led by former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont, who is now in exile, but disagreements have worsened. The latter ended up relinquishing power in October 2022.
Sunday’s vote comes after Puigdemont plunged Spain into its worst political crisis in decades by holding an illegal and unilateral referendum on regional independence, followed by a unilateral declaration of independence. It took place six and a half years later. Spain’s conservative government at the time responded by sending in thousands of police to prevent people from voting, often violently. He then dismissed Puigdemont and his cabinet, dissolved the local parliament, and took direct control of Catalonia. Puigdemont fled Spain to avoid arrest, leaving other leading figures in the independence movement to face trial and imprisonment.
But since Sanchez became prime minister in 2018, sentiment has cooled and tensions have declined. Almost three years ago, Mr Sanchez pardoned nine independence leaders for their role in his failed push to leave, calling for a new “era of dialogue and understanding”. The pardon was a controversial but serious move that Sanchez introduced in April to gain support from the ERC and the Jantz faction, thereby securing his return to office after last summer’s inconclusive general election. It was not as controversial as the divisive amnesty law.
Although Puigdemont is the most high-profile beneficiary, the law also applies to around 400 people involved in the symbolic independence referendum in November 2014 and the referendum held three years later. become.
According to the poll, Salvador Ira, a former Spanish health minister who currently heads the Catalan branch of the Socialist Party, is expected to come in first place, followed by Juntz and then ERC. The key questions are whether Mr. Ira can muster enough support to form a government and whether the two main pro-independence parties can win more than 50% of the vote between them.
Mr Illa acknowledged that some people remain unconvinced by the amnesty – which his party and others have denounced as a cynical, selfish and insane political maneuver by Mr Sánchez. and other conciliatory stances, he said, have significantly eased tensions.
He also accused the ERC and Junts of being too obsessed with independence to improve Catalonia’s declining public services or prepare for the drought the region has suffered for the past three years.
Prime Minister Illa said in an interview with the Guardian newspaper on Friday that a PSC-led government would enable Catalonia to overcome what he called the “lost decade” of rule by the ERC and Yunts.
“This election can and should open a new era for Catalonia. I define it in two words: the verbs ‘unity’ and ‘service’,” he said.
“When you talk to people about things that are important to them, they talk about drought and education. Catalonia has always been good, but now it lags behind compared to the rest of Spain. Infrastructure, safety, It’s about health care,” he said. He said.
Mr Puigdemont, who is preparing to return to Spain once the amnesty law takes effect, warned that he could abandon support for Mr Sánchez if his party does not like the formation of a PSC-led government.
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At his last election rally in the south of France on Friday, Mr. Puigdemont appealed to his followers to come out and vote.
“This vote is like slamming your fist on the table. It means ‘enough is enough!'” he told supporters. “Enough of abusing our language and culture and saying sorry for who we want to be. It’s a moment to say, ‘Enough is enough!'” It’s too late to say that now, the day after the election. ”
Aragonés also called on pro-independence voters to unite.
“I ask you to fill your ballot boxes with Republican votes,” he said Friday. “To build a future of dignity and freedom. For independence, social justice, opposition to the monarchy and corruption, and for all of Catalonia.”
Recent polls show that Catalonia’s desire for independence continues to decline. At the height of the crisis in October 2017, a survey by the Catalan government’s Pinion Research Center found that 48.7% of Catalans supported independence, while 43.6% did not support independence.a March poll A survey conducted by the center found that 51% were against the idea and 42% were in favor.
Despite its regional nature, Sunday’s election will be closely watched in parliament. Mr Sánchez hopes the result will vindicate his soft-soft strategy, while the opposition conservative People’s Party (PP) hopes to finish in fourth place, ahead of rivals from the far-right Vox party. right.
“We ask for the vote of all those who want a new chapter for Catalonia,” said PP leader Alberto Nuñez Feijo. “I ask these votes to guarantee equality and freedom and to make Catalonia a welcoming, open and safe land once again.”
