When has a government ever offered an amnesty to fugitives from justice in order to stay in office? That’s what’s happening in Spain at the moment. Following July’s general election the only way in which the caretaker prime minister, the socialist Pedro Sánchez, can cling to power is by cutting a deal with a hodgepodge of small parties, including two Catalan separatist groups. Their price includes a general amnesty for those indicted for their involvement in the illegal referendum on independence for Catalonia in 2017 and the subsequent unilateral declaration of independence.
In July’s election Sánchez’s left-wing party, PSOE, won just 121 seats. The support of the radical left party Sumar (31 seats) only takes that total to 152 – still well short of the 176 needed for a majority in the 350-seat parliament. To get over the line, Sánchez also needs the backing of five small regional parties, four of which want to secede from Spain.
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