Esquerra Republicana may demand Catalonia independence talks in return for approving Spain’s coalition government

Esquerra Republicana may demand Pedro Sanchez engage in Catalonia talks in exchange for supporting his coalition government Pic: Twitter

CATALAN separatist party Esquerra Republicana may demand direct talks over Catalan’s future in return for supporting Pedro Sánchez’ new coalition government.

Finishing first in the general election notwithstanding, acting prime minister and Socialist Party leader Sánchez must secure support from Catalan separatists to approve his coalition government as his party did not win enough seats to govern alone.

He reached agreement with left-wing Unidas Podemos after the election on November 10, but obtaining backing from Esquerra Republicana presents a real challenge.

He has to convince Esquerra to help him at the investiture vote, billed to happen in the next few weeks.

Sánchez will be at pains to persuade them that if they don’t help create a government with their abstention at the vote, Spain might suffer a third general election in the space of a year, and in which the far right may gain even more votes.

It is reported that Esquerra officials have said off the record that the party is preparing their supporters to accept Sánchez’ deal and have already started meeting with local groups in order to limit the potential backlash if Esquerra do eventually give their backing to a socialist-led government.

Spain has held four elections in four years, with each one rendering the country more unstable and a government largely ineffective.

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Shirin Aguiar

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