Socialist candidate wins election in Catalonia; not sure to lead the executive

6 months ago 23

The leader of Catalonia’s socialist party (PSC) and former health minister, Salvador Illa, won Sunday’s elections, followed by the separatist JxCat formation of former regional president Carles Puigdemont and the left-wing pro-independence ERC party, but the socialist candidate is not certain to govern.

Before the final results were announced, Illa expressed his willingness to make every effort to achieve a unity government and push for political reconciliation in the Spanish region.

“Today, a new stage will open in Catalonia to unite and serve the Catalans”, Illa stressed.

Meanwhile, Puigdemont expressed on Sunday evening his conviction that his party will hold the key to future stability even though his separatist formation failed to win enough votes to form a solely separatist bloc.

According to official results, the PSC won 42 seats, JxCat gathered 35; ERC won 20; the Catalan branch of the Spanish People’s Party (Partido Popular /EPP), the main opposition force in Madrid, 15; the far-right VOX party, the third force in the Spanish Parliament, 11; the progressive Sumar/Comuns) alliance, 6; the left-wing pro-independence Candidatura de Unión Popular (CUP), 4; while the pro-independence far-right Catalan Alliance party entered the regional parliament for the first time with two deputies.

The Catalan parliament has 135 seats, and the majority is set at 68 seats.

The snap elections in Catalonia were called last March by the outgoing president, Pere Aragonès (ERC), after failing to reach an agreement on the region’s budget for this year with the PSC and other regional and pro-independence forces, Euractiv´s partner EFE reported.

Uncertainty over who will govern

Puigdemont, leader of the right-wing separatist party Together for Catalonia (JxCat) and member of the European Parliament, has lived in exile since he was charged over his role in an unsanctioned independence referendum in 2017 while he was Catalonia’s regional president.

The former Catalan president, who ran in these elections under the multi-formation platform Junts + Puigdemont per Catalunya, celebrated his party’s good results and admitted the difficulties in forging a regional government (Generalitat) completely pro-independence.

From the French town of Laroque-des-Albères, near the Spanish border, he predicted that Sunday (12 May) would be “the last day of exile for many people who are abroad (including himself)” adding that “it is time to return home”.

Analysts foresee a very complex post-election scenario, even warning of the possibility of repeating the elections.

According to analysts, the most likely scenario to avoid new regional elections in October is a government led by the PSC -which is not separatist- together with ERC and Sumar/Comunes.

The three parties together would reach the 68-seat absolute majority.

Both JxCat and ERC, as well as two pro-independence Basque parties and other minor formations, provide vital parliamentary support to ensure the stability of the coalition government between Sánchez’s PSOE and the progressive platform Sumar, led by deputy prime minister and labour minister Yolanda Díaz.

(Fernando Heller | EuroEFE.EURACTIV.es)