... headed by Pedro Sanchez, leader of the socialist party, has faced a host of interconnected challenges on internal and external tracks alike. Home agenda which includes socio-economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and a new round of talks with Catalonia regarding its status seems to be put aside amid a demanding geopolitical situation in Europe. Meanwhile, the Spanish PM seeks to maintain support of the regional parties in parliament. However, the “Pegasus case” which sparked outrage in ...
... 155 mandates
, falling short of the majority (176) by 21 votes. In such a situation, success of any initiative put forward by the left-wing government depends on the support of other parliamentary parties—in particular, the nationalist movements of Catalonia and the Basque Country. The Republican Left of Catalonia (Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, the ERC) and “Together for Catalonia” account for 13 and 8 seats, whereas the Basque Nationalist Party (BNP) and the EH-Bildu are each represented ...
... the Spanish authorities were forced to re-think their previous approaches to the country’s territorial and political integrity
The Catalan Independence Referendum held on October 1, 2017, and the subsequent declaration of independence approved by Catalonia’s Parliament provoked a major political and constitutional crisis in Spain, the worst since the country transitioned to democracy forty years ago. Madrid’s assumption of control over the region failed to resolve the crisis and merely moved ...
... Parliament should declare the independence and people should go on the streets to show the support to that proclamation. Interview with Lluc Salellas, member of the National Secretary of the Popular Unity Candidacy
The referendum on the future of Catalonia is scheduled for October, 1. With the national government opposing the vote, the results of the upcoming event remains unclear. Lluc Salellas, member of the National Secretary of the Popular Unity Candidacy (pro-Catalan independence party) shares ...
The Problem of Catalonia is the Problem of Spain
The parliamentary elections held on September 27 were arguably the most important in Catalonia’s history. The separatists managed to make the elections feel like a referendum – even though under the Spanish ...
The Shedding of Hopes
In terms of the quest for independence, 2014 has been a bad year for separatist movements in a number of regions in Western European countries (Scotland, Catalonia, Northern Italy, Flanders, Greenland, Corsica, Northern Ireland and the Basque Country). In some countries, the separatists lost referendums and polls, while in others the mass actions of their supporters were unsuccessful. There were signs ...
... of the CiU, and his family members. The scandal threw a shadow on the ruling party and Mas himself, who had called Pujol his “political father”. Another argument against the early election was the reinforcement of the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC), CiU’s ally in the independence cause.The left Republicans, who had consistently supported the Catalans’ right to self-determination, demanded that an early election be held and Catalonia’s independence be proclaimed ...
The parties supporting Catalonian independence from the rest of Spain dominate that autonomous community. A referendum on self-determination is scheduled for November 9, 2014. However, according to the Constitution, no entity can hold a referendum without the consent of Spanish ...
... forces in some areas "encroach" on state sovereignty, claiming sovereign status of their territories. At the forefront of the struggle for sovereignty in Spain are representatives of the most advanced autonomous regions - the Basque Country and Catalonia, making demands of political, cultural and linguistic characters. Regional separatism in the past decade manifested itself in two main forms - a terrorist armed struggle (the ETA in the Basque Country) and civil, often massive claims for independence ...
