In Spain, the likelihood of a new Sánchez premiership grows

(CN) — Spanish Socialist leader Pedro Sánchez moved much closer to securing a new term as prime minister after left-wing and regional Basque and Catalan lawmakers on Thursday backed his party’s candidate for the parliament’s presidency.

Thursday’s crucial vote gave Socialist Francina Armengol, the former president of the Balearic Islands, the speaker’s role in the Congress of Deputies, the powerful lower chamber in parliament.

Most importantly, the vote was a strong signal that Sánchez and his center-left Socialists may be prepared to govern with Catalan and Basque lawmakers. This potential new coalition would need to include lawmakers with Sumar, a smaller far-left party.

Sánchez’s hopes of retaining the premiership were bolstered by last month’s national elections when Spain’s two conservative parties — the mainstream center-right Popular Party and far-right Vox — fell short of obtaining enough votes to carry a majority in parliament.

The result left an opening for Sánchez to join forces with smaller left-wing and regional separatist parties. However, such a coalition likely would be highly volatile due to the demands for greater independence by Catalan and Basque lawmakers.

Armengol obtained enough votes to win the speaker’s chair after she was backed by small Catalan and Basque separatist parties, including Together for Catalonia, a group of hardline center-right Catalan secessionists led by Carles Puigdemont, the self-exiled leader who spearheaded efforts to hold an illegal referendum on Catalan independence in 2017. He runs the party, which is known more commonly as Junts, from his base in Brussels and faces criminal charges in Spain for his role in the secessionist movement.

In exchange for the votes of regional parties, Armengol agreed to allow Catalan and Basque to be considered official languages that can be spoken in the Congress of Deputies.

“Spain always advances when it recognizes its plurality and diversity,” she said, as reported by El Pais, a Spanish newspaper.

She also said a special committee will be set up to investigate the use of spyware by Spanish authorities against Catalan politicians and activists. Spain, like other European Union nations, is accused of using illegal spyware to monitor citizens, but so far few details have emerged about Spain’s surveillance program.

However, Sánchez has said he will not bow to two of Puigdemont’s key demands if he becomes prime minister with the support of Catalan secessionists. Puigdemont wants Sánchez to declare an amnesty for those like him implicated in the failed independence drive and to allow Catalans to vote in a new independence referendum. But Sánchez says both of those acts would run counter to the Spanish constitution.

Regardless of Thursday’s vote, Sánchez faces tricky coalition talks.

“The real negotiation begins now,” said Martxe Aizpurua, a leader with Bildu, a Basque party, as reported by El Pais. She said the Socialists must demonstrate that they “truly understand the multi-national reality” of Spain and take steps to advance Basque demands for independence.

Sánchez is expected to present plans for a new coalition government next month.

Courthouse News reporter Cain Burdeau is based in the European Union.

Follow @cainburdeau