Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez managed to avoid disaster in the first major parliamentary vote of the new parliament, but doubts are growing over the viability of his controversial governing alliance.
Parliament narrowly approved a series of major bills, including a series of economic measures and reforms to the judiciary and civil service, but the nationalists of the Joint Party for Catalonia (JxCat) refused to support Mr. Sánchez, resulting in a reduction in unemployment benefits. A third bill addressing the issue was defeated. The government introduced all three of his bills by decree before Christmas, and they needed parliamentary approval to remain in force.
Pedro Casares, from Sanchez’s Socialist Party, said the bill was “not about…” . . To save this government is to save and protect millions of Spaniards. ”
Sánchez formed a new coalition government in November with parliamentary support from several nationalist parties, including former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont’s hard-line ZXCat.
In exchange for its support, Mr. Sánchez’s Socialist Party agreed to introduce an amnesty law that would benefit hundreds of separatists facing lawsuits, including Mr. Puigdemont.
However, in Wednesday’s vote, JX Cat refused to support any of the government’s bills and abstained from voting, while left-wing Podemos’ decision to vote against some of the government’s economic measures meant that three This meant that one of the bills was rejected.
“My country does not deserve this monster, this disgrace, this humiliation,” Alberto Nuñez Feijó, leader of the opposition Conservative People’s Party (PP), said of the drama surrounding the vote.
“If three decrees have put the government in such a tight spot, it’s frightening to think what will happen to the rest of parliament week after week,” he said.
Approval of the bill on the judiciary and civil service will ensure that the €10 billion in EU recovery funds to which the bill was conditioned will be released.
The government was concerned that all three bills would be defeated, as JxCat announced its intention to block them the day before the vote. The party has raised several objections, including calling for the introduction of sanctions against companies that refuse to return to Catalonia after relocating to other parts of Spain due to the turmoil caused by failed secession in 2017. was. Approximately 5,000 companies have been reported. During that period, we moved our headquarters from Catalonia.
ZXCat’s decision to abstain rather than vote against the bill prevented the session from becoming a triple defeat for Sanchez’s government. But it comes as a shot in the arm for the prime minister’s critics, who had warned that reliance on nationalists would lead to a highly unstable parliament.
After the vote, JxCat announced that seven members abstained from voting in exchange for a series of concessions from the government, including tighter immigration controls in Catalonia.
The amnesty law submitted by the Socialist Party to parliament has infuriated many trade unionists, who see it as an unconstitutional concession to Catalan nationalism. The law must be approved by Congress and overcome legal hurdles before it takes effect, likely later this year.
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