Catalonia Sinks Another Spanish Government
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s compromises were never enough for the separatists. Now both he and they are about to take a bold gamble
A supporter of Catalan independence carries a Catalan estelada flag during a protest in Barcelona.
Photographer: Angel Garcia/BloombergThe foundations underpinning Spain’s governing coalition look set to crumble. The support of Catalan separatists has proved to be unreliable. But Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez may have shown enough generosity to voters to do well in an early election.
When socialist Sanchez ousted Mariano Rajoy, then leader of the conservative People’s Party, in June, he couldn’t have mustered the necessary majority without what the latter called a “Frankenstein coalition.” That shaky alliance included Catalan separatist parties eager to avenge Rajoy’s crackdown on their independence drive in 2017. To them, helping Sanchez, who at least declared himself open to negotiations, looked like a good idea at the time.