Spain’s Sánchez headed for investiture victory amid unrest over amnesty deal

Spain’s socialist leader Pedro Sánchez is expected to win an investiture vote on Thursday, confirming the formation of a new coalition government, amid a wave of protests over a controversial deal he has reached with Catalan nationalists.

Although the Spanish Socialist Workers party (PSOE) came second in July’s general election and does not command a parliamentary majority, Sánchez has secured enough support from parties to his left and an array of regional nationalists to win the investiture, which began on Wednesday with a debate in congress.

“I am here to propose four more years of stability, of progress, of coexistence and to say no to reactionaries whose only plan is backwardness and confrontation,” Sánchez said during his opening speech to the house.

The socialist leader, who has been in office since 2018, plans to form a coalition with the left-wing Sumar alliance in a bid to avoid a repeat election in January.

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However, an amnesty law Sánchez has agreed to push through parliament in exchange for the support of Catalan nationalists has triggered significant political backlash and social unrest.

The law, negotiated with the Catalan Republican Left (ERC) and Together for Catalonia (JxCat), would withdraw criminal proceedings against more than 300 Catalan pro-independence activists and politicians for separatist-related activity over the last decade.

Among the beneficiaries would be Carles Puigdemont, the former president of Catalonia who fled abroad after leading a failed secession attempt in 2017 and who was closely involved in negotiating the Bill.

The right-wing opposition claims the amnesty, which is expected to come into effect next year, is unconstitutional and promotes inequality by giving preferential treatment to Catalans.

“Mr Sánchez has humiliated himself and his party but he does not have the right to humiliate the Spanish people and that is what he has done,” said the leader of the conservative Popular Party (PP), Alberto Núñez Feijóo, who described the investiture as “an exercise in political corruption”.

[ Will Pedro Sánchez’ gamble on a controversial Catalan amnesty pay off? ]

[ The Irish Times view on Spanish government formation: give the deal a chance ]

“History will not provide [Mr Sánchez] with an amnesty,” Núñez Feijóo said.

The PP, which won the general election, failed to form a government in September with the support of the far-right Vox. It is now calling for another election to be held.

Sánchez defended the law, saying: “The amnesty is not going to be an attack on the 1978 constitution, as you say, but rather the opposite, it will be a reflection of its strength and its relevance.”

Although Sánchez has insisted that the amnesty will improve the political atmosphere in Catalonia, it has so far generated a large degree of turmoil on a national level and it guarantees a difficult start to the legislature for a fragile government.

Opponents of the amnesty have been gathering to demonstrate near PSOE headquarters each night for the last 10 days, with the protests sometimes turning violent. A large demonstration is also planned to be held on Saturday in Madrid.

Some prominent figures on the left have also criticised the amnesty initiative, such as former socialist prime minister Felipe González and the socialist president of the Castilla-La Mancha region, Emiliano García-Page.

However, allies of the Sánchez are hopeful that once this wave of social unrest has passed, voters will not dwell on the amnesty and it will be seen in a similar light to pardons for nine jailed Catalan leaders his government approved in 2021, which did not appear to impact him electorally.

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There was a heavy police presence outside congress as the investiture debate began and the perimeter of the building was fenced off due to fears that people might try to disturb the proceedings.

Several hundred protesters gathered outside the perimeter, many of them chanting for Sánchez and Puigdemont to be jailed. Among the Spanish flags being brandished were some pre-constitutional ones associated with the Franco dictatorship.

The far-right Catholic group Hazte Oir hired vans and buses, with messages on their sides accusing Sánchez of betraying Spain and leading a coup d’état, to drive past the congress building throughout the day.