• Sánchez secures controversial amnesty deal with Catalan separatists
• Outrage and protests in Madrid against the proposed amnesty law
• Accusations of granting independence movement a “blank check”

Spain’s acting prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has struck a controversial amnesty deal with a Catalan separatist party, edging closer to four more years in office.

Sánchez, leader of the Socialist party, finished second in July’s general elections, but the winning conservative Popular Party failed to secure a majority.

In order to secure another term, Sánchez has committed to passing an amnesty law, a move that has ignited widespread outrage.

Right-wing demonstrators have taken to the streets in Madrid and other cities, vehemently opposing the amnesty law, which would potentially extend pardons to numerous Catalan politicians and activists associated with the 2017 independence bid.

Critics, including figures from the Popular Party (PP), accuse the acting prime minister of essentially granting the independence movement a “blank check.” Madrid Mayor Isabel Díaz Ayuso has criticized the Socialists for what she sees as an assault on Spain’s centuries-old rule of law.

The tension surrounding the deal has escalated to the point where a former Catalan leader of the PP and the founder of the far-right Vox party was shot and injured on a Madrid street. Alejo-Vidal Quadras, 78, had previously condemned the “infamous pact,” warning that it could lead Spain into a “totalitarian tyranny.”

Prior to this agreement, Pedro Sánchez had already secured a pact with the pro-independence Catalan Republican Left (ERC), which governs Spain’s northeastern region.

His negotiators have now also reached an accord with the more radical Together for Catalonia (JxCat), led by Carles Puigdemont, who sought refuge in Brussels to evade imprisonment after spearheading the independence vote six years ago.

While Puigdemont went into exile, nine other Catalan leaders faced sedition charges and were subsequently pardoned by Sánchez in 2021. It’s worth noting that sedition has since been removed from Spain’s penal code.

“It’s an agreement that provides a historic opportunity to resolve a conflict that can and should only be dealt with politically,” said Santos Cerdán, the Socialist party secretary who negotiated the deal with Mr. Puigdemont.

“It’s necessary to form a progressive government as soon as possible, that gives stability to Spain and that fulfils the mandate of the people in last elections.”

Mr. Puigdemont said the deal marked a step towards resolving “the historic conflict between Catalonia and Spain”.

The leader of the conservative PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, spoke of a day that would go down “in the dark history of our country”. He had earlier tried and failed to form a government despite winning the general election.

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