Catalan independence leader Carlos Puigdemont, who remains in exile, announced today that his party's leadership has decided to "terminate" the agreement with Spain's ruling Socialists and stop supporting Pedro Sanchez's government, which lacks a majority in parliament.
"Our political project is not aimed at the stability of Spain," Puigdemont said in France. He lives in Belgium to avoid Spanish law after Catalonia's attempted secession. He made the statement after a meeting of his party, known as JxCat.
In the Spanish parliament, seven members of the party voted for Sanchez to return to power in 2023. Meanwhile, relations with Sanchez's Socialist Party have deteriorated.
"We are not prepared to continue supporting a government that does not help Catalonia. That is why the national executive leadership has decided to end support for the Socialist Party, move into opposition and, of course, consult with party activists," Puigdemont said.
He specified that these consultations would begin on Wednesday and end on Thursday evening. If the party base approves the decision to secede, which is likely, "the Spanish government will no longer have a majority," Puigdemont continued, adding that Mr. Sanchez would then "not have a budget, not have the capacity to govern."
He called on the Socialist Party to "think" about this situation, but did not say whether his party's deputies would vote in parliament for a possible motion of no confidence in the left-wing government, which would lead to the fall of the government and the calling of early elections.
Puigdemont's party has received a promise from Sanchez's party that parliament will pass an amnesty law for its leaders and activists who were prosecuted for their involvement in the failed 2017 Catalan secession attempt.
The law was passed in 2024, but Puigdemont still cannot benefit from it, because the courts have refused to apply it - because he is charged with the crime of embezzlement.
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