2023-11-15 19:40:13
Published on November 15, 2023 at 8:40 p.m. / Modified on November 15, 2023 at 8:41 p.m.
“In the name of Spain, in the interest of Spain and to defend harmony between the Spaniards, we will grant an amnesty to those prosecuted.” Dark blue suit and red tie, cheerful appearance and emphatic voice, Pedro Sanchez received a round of applause this Wednesday from left-wing deputies and those belonging to independence and regionalist groups. From the rostrum of the Lower House of Parliament , he was able to see that, on his right, these remarks provoked black anger among conservative deputies and the extreme right. We could hear: “Sanchez, traitor, felon.”
This anger echoed the protests which took place at the same time outside the hemicycle, protected for the occasion by 1,600 police officers stationed to prevent possible altercations with the hundreds of demonstrators. Waving national flags, shouting “Sanchez in jail!” or “It’s a coup d’état!”, they embody the immense discontent which has spread throughout Spain over the past ten days against what will happen tomorrow: thanks to an agreement sealed with the Catalan separatist party Junts per Catalunya (Together for Catalonia) providing for an amnesty law for all secessionist leaders convicted or under trial, the socialist Pedro Sanchez obtains the support of the seven deputies he lacked to achieve an absolute majority in the Cortes, set at 176 seats. Whoever has been in power at the head of a left-wing coalition since 2019 can therefore remain in control of the country.
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