This week, King Felipe will appoint the social-democratic PSOE leader Pedro Sanchez as the new formateur. This increases the likelihood that the current prime minister can indeed continue his administration, provided he maintains the support of seven politicians from two regional Catalan parties. These parties already supported Sanchez’s candidate for the presidency of the parliament last week.
The two Catalan parties have made participation in the government conditional on the proposed new center-left coalition clearing the way for a referendum in Catalonia on possible independence, as well as amnesty for Catalan police who cooperated in such an illegal referendum six years ago.
That amnesty should also apply to two Catalan politicians who have been residing in exile in Brussels since the canceled referendum, including MEP Carles Puigdemont. Spain has requested Belgium to extradite him.
Currently, party officials are still negotiating the texts of a coalition agreement in which PSOE leader Sanchez insists that the constitution does not allow regional ‘secession.’ It is expected that some form of compromise will emerge from these talks.
If Sanchez fails to form a new government within two months after his appointment as formateur, new elections must be held, no later than January 14.