Pedro Sanchez reappointed as head of Spain in a very tense political climate

INTERNATIONAL – 176 votes. This is what Pedro Sanchez needed to remain at the head of the Spanish government. The socialist leader won his bet this Thursday, November 16 and obtained the confidence of deputies in Madrid, thanks to the criticized support of the Catalan separatists.

If the Prime Minister, in office since June 2018, managed to remain in government, it is in fact by granting an amnesty law to Catalan separatists in exchange for their support. Presenting to deputies the priorities of his new mandate, Pedro Sánchez defended the necessity and constitutionality of this measure, which he had nevertheless opposed in the past.

“ Close the wounds » of the 2017 crisis

This amnesty, which is rejected by a majority of Spaniards according to several polls, is necessary to “ close the wounds » opened by the 2017 crisis, declared the Prime Minister, assuring that he wanted to guarantee “ the unity of Spain through dialogue and forgiveness”. Six years ago, the separatists attempted to secede from Spain by organizing a self-determination referendum. After a vote largely in favor of independence in Catalonia, the Spanish Constitutional Court invalidated the results of the vote and declared it illegal.

Today, Pedro Sanchez’s conservative opponents do not see things the same way as the Prime Minister, whom they refuse to pardon. In recent days, they have organized numerous demonstrations in the country, in which hundreds of thousands of opponents participated this Sunday.

The daily rallies in front of the headquarters of the far-right Socialist Party in Madrid have also steadily degenerated since last week. On Wednesday evening, 15 people were again arrested for disturbing public order after further clashes with the police, according to the prefecture.

Due to these tensions, more than 1,600 police officers were again deployed on Thursday around Parliament, which had been completely cordoned off since Wednesday by the police. A system equivalent to that of a football match classified as high risk. In this context, Pedro Sanchez called on the opposition not to “take advantage of this situation to set fire to the street”.

Once invested by the deputies, Pedro Sánchez will be able to form a new government in the coming days with his allies in the far-left Sumar coalition, putting an end to almost four months of blockage since the legislative elections of July 23.

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