Spain’s Socialists hail ‘new era’ in Catalonia as separatist support dims in elections
3882 Mins Read
Spain’s Socialists won the biggest share of the vote in Sunday’s Catalan elections, dealing a serious blow to more than a decade of separatist governance and the independence dreams still nursed by some in the wealthy northeastern region.
The Socialists, led locally by Salvador Illa, had 42 seats in the 135-seat chamber with more than 99% of the vote counted, while hardline separatist party Junts was in second place with 35 seats, and the incumbent more moderate separatist party Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC) had 20 seats.
Spain’s largest opposition party, the conservative People’s Party, also had a good night, seeing the biggest increase since the last vote in 2021 from three seats to 15 on Sunday. Turnout for the vote was notably low at 58%.
The result looks to be an existential threat for separatist governance in Catalonia which led a 2017 illegal independence referendum and declaration of independence that caused Spain’s worst institutional crisis in more than 30 years but whose movement has lost energy and unity more recently.
The separatist parties combined of the ERC, Junts, far-left CUP and far-right Alianca Catalana, do not have the required 68 seats to be able to form a coalition government. Illa’s Socialists will also need to forge an agreement – most likely with the ERC – but separatist parties until now have rejected any suggestion of helping the national ruling party govern in Catalonia.
Illa might instead attempt to form an unorthodox alliance with not only far-left Sumar, its coalition partner in national government, but also the conservative People’s Party and far-right Vox, with whom the socialists have long said they would not negotiate.
