Summary of the day
Spain’s socialist party and Catalan separatist party Junts reached a deal for Junts to support a Socialist-led government.
Alejo Vidal-Quadras, a former PP leader in Catalonia who joined Vox in 2014, is reported to be in a stable condition in hospital after being shot in the face by a masked gunman in a wealthy Madrid neighbourhood.
Acting prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, is now on the verge of securing another term in office, with a vote in parliament possible next week.
The socialist party won Junts’ support by offering a deeply controversial amnesty for those who took part in the illegal and failed bid for regional independence six years ago.
The deal says the proposed amnesty law is intended “to bring about full political, institutional and social normality as an essential prerequisite for dealing with the challenges of the immediate future”.
Catalan politician Carles Puigdemont said the agreement is a step towards resolving a “historic conflict” between Spain and Catalonia.
Conservative and far-right politicians sharply criticised the agreement.
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Santiago Abascal, leader of the far-right Vox, has called today’s deal between the socialists and Junts a “coup” and said a “civil resistance” is being launched.
‼ #ÚLTIMAHORA | @Santi_ABASCAL en rueda de prensa:
— VOX 🇪🇸 (@vox_es) November 9, 2023
➡ "Comienza un periodo negro en la historia de España, hoy se ha puesto en marcha un golpe contra la Nación".
➡ "Iniciamos la resistencia civil. O el dictador en el banquillo o los que nos oponemos a este golpe en la… pic.twitter.com/QcTWkL3Pjl
Portugal’s president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, is now meeting with the Council of State, an 18-member consultative body. He is expected to make an announcement later on about what comes next after the resignation earlier this week of the country’s prime minister, António Costa.
Pedro Sánchez has expressed his solidarity with Alejo Vidal-Quadras, sending wishes for a speedy recovery, after the veteran politician was shot in the face today.
Quiero trasladar mi solidaridad y deseos de pronta recuperación a Alejo Vidal-Quadras.
— Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) November 9, 2023
Todo mi afecto en estos momentos para él y para su familia.
Confiamos en que la investigación pueda esclarecer cuanto antes los hechos y se detenga a los responsables.
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Veteran politician in stable condition after being shot in Madrid
A veteran PP and Vox politician is reported to be in a stable condition in hospital after being shot in the face by a masked gunman in a wealthy Madrid neighbourhood on Thursday.
Alejo Vidal-Quadras, a former PP leader in Catalonia who joined Vox in 2014, was shot in Núñez de Balboa street in the barrio of Salamanca.
Madrid’s emergency services confirmed that a 78-year-old man had received a gunshot wound and had been taken to hospital. They added that the bullet had passed through his jaw.
#Agresión con arma de fuego en c/Núñez de Balboa, 40. #Salamanca.@SAMUR_PC estabiliza a un hombre de 78 años con una herida por arma de fuego y lo traslada a un hospital de #Madrid.@policia investiga. Colabora @policiademadrid. pic.twitter.com/OZHJH866no
— Emergencias Madrid (@EmergenciasMad) November 9, 2023
El País reported that Vidal-Quadras was in a stable condition in the Spanish capital’s Gregorio Marañon hospital and was being treated for a gunshot wound to the face.
The paper said the rightwing politician was attacked at around 1.30pm local time as he came out of the building where he lives.
“Initial investigations suggest that two men on a black Yamaha motorbike were involved in the shooting,” said El País. “The gunman, who was wearing a crash helmet, jumped onto the bike after discharging his weapon. The pair then drove off.”
Vox’s leader, Santiago Abascal, said he believed Vidal-Quadras’ life was not in immediate peril.
“Thank god it seems that Alejandro Vidal-Quadras is out of danger,” Abascal said.
The PP leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, deplored the shooting and wished for his recovery.
Vidal-Quadras was a long-time member of the PP and a European parliament member before he broke away to help found the far-right Vox party. He left Vox shortly after a failed attempt to win a European lawmaker seat in 2014.
Former head of People’s party in Catalonia shot
The former head of Spain’s People’s party in the Catalonia region was shot in the face in Madrid today according to police, Reuters has reported.
Alejo Vidal-Quadras, who is also one of the co-founders of Vox, was shot in the Salamanca area of central Madrid at about 1.30pm and taken to hospital.
The police are looking for a person who fled on a motorcycle, EFE reported.
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A plenary session to debate Pedro Sánchez’s bid to become prime minister again will be convened next week, elDiario.es reports. A vote is expected on 16 November.
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Exiled Catalan politician Carles Puigdemont is now speaking to reporters in Brussels.
He said that today’s agreement with the socialist party serves to start a political negotiation that should allow for resolving the historical conflict between Catalonia and Spain.
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Sánchez set to stay PM after controversial amnesty with Catalan separatists
Spain’s acting prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, is on the verge of securing another term in office after his socialist party won the support of Catalan separatists by offering a deeply controversial amnesty for those who took part in the illegal and failed bid for regional independence six years ago.
The deal between the Spanish Socialist Workers party (PSOE) and the centre-right Junts (Together) comes after a week of tense negotiations and amid widespread concerns over the amnesty, which have led to street protests, dire warnings from conservative judges and questions from Brussels.
Speaking shortly after the agreement was announced, the PSOE’s organisational secretary, Santos Cerdán, said the negotiations had yielded “a historic opportunity to resolve a conflict that could – and should – only be resolved politically”. He said the proposed amnesty bill would now be put before parliament, adding that a new, socialist-led government would offer a progressive alternative to an alliance between the conservative People’s party (PP) and the far-right Vox party.
The deal follows months of uncertainty caused by an inconclusive snap general election in July, in which the PP narrowly beat the PSOE. But the PP failed to muster the support it needed to form a government with Vox, leaving the way clear for the PSOE and its allies in the leftwing Sumar alliance.
Read the full story here.
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Anticipation here in Brussels as we wait for Junts’ Carles Puigdemont to address reporters.
What's in Spain's deal?
The deal signed between Spain’s socialist party and Junts includes a section on the controversial amnesty law, which says the proposed law is intended “to bring about full political, institutional and social normality as an essential prerequisite for dealing with the challenges of the immediate future”.
It adds:
This law should include both the leaders and citizens who, after the consultation of 2014 and the referendum of 2017, have been the subject of judicial decisions or processes related to these events. As a result, the conclusions of the investigative committees of this legislature will have to take into account the application of the amnesty law in cases involving situations known as lawfare or the judicialisation of politics.
The 2014 consultation is a reference to the symbolic referendum that came three years before the Puigdemont government’s unilateral referendum.
The mentions of “lawfare” and the “judicialisation of politics” are likely to have been inserted to offer Carles Puigdemont and other separatist leaders protection against what they see as politically motivated judicial actions against them.
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Far-right Vox leader Santiago Abascal will hold a press conference at 3pm.
🔴 #URGENTE 🔴
— VOX 🇪🇸 (@vox_es) November 9, 2023
Rueda de prensa de @Santi_ABASCAL en la sede nacional de VOX.
A las 15:00 horas, síguelo en nuestro canal de YouTube: https://t.co/v60kudytG5
¡PAREMOS EL GOLPE!
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El País has published the four-page document signed by the Spanish socialists and separatist Catalan party Junts.
The Spanish socialists’ negotiator, Santos Cerdán, said the deal with Junts is historic.
The amnesty law is agreed, he said, adding that now political groups need to see it.
Cerdán said it is necessary to form a progressive government “as soon as possible” because that was the mandate of the election where the “Spanish people said no to a government of PP and Vox, no to the setback and tension,” El País reported.
Hemos alcanzado un acuerdo con JxCat que constituye una oportunidad histórica para resolver un conflicto que sólo desde la política puede y debe resolverse.
— PSOE (@PSOE) November 9, 2023
El #23J los ciudadanos dijeron no a un gobierno de PP y Vox y sí al Gobierno del PSOE; dijeron no al enfrentamiento y sí a… pic.twitter.com/gyqw2JEUs7
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Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party is joining Spain’s right in criticising the deal, with Hungarian MEP Balázs Hidvéghi arguing that the rule of law is in danger in Spain.
El Estado de derecho está en peligro en España‼️ La ley de amnistía preparado por las socialistas va en contra de la Constitución 🇪🇸. Sin embargo, Bruselas está en silencio. Gracias por el evento de hoy @Jorgebuxade y @VOX_Europa_ #Espana pic.twitter.com/bFke9Kkg5U
— Hidvéghi Balázs (@BalazsHidveghi) November 9, 2023
“Today we live in a democracy worse than yesterday,” the conservative People’s party deputy secretary Miguel Tellado wrote following news of an agreement between the socialists and Junts.
El día de hoy pasará a la historia negra de España.
— Miguel Tellado (@Mtelladof) November 9, 2023
Sánchez ha entregado nuestra dignidad y nuestro Estado de derecho a cambio de 7 votos.
Hoy vivimos en una democracia peor que ayer.https://t.co/D0aV9upAuF
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Spain's Socialists reach agreement with separatist Catalan party on government support
Spain’s socialist party and Catalan separatist party Junts have confirmed that they have reached a deal for Junts to support a Socialist-led government, Reuters reported.
The deal paves the way for Pedro Sánchez to formally become prime minister again in the coming days.
The socialists’ Santos Cerdán is expected to speak soon about the agreement. Junts’ Carles Puigdemont is also expected to speak in Brussels later today.
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Spanish socialist party politician Javier Izquierdo pushed back against criticism from the People’s party politician Isabel Díaz Ayuso, who said the reported deal between the socialists and Junts would usher in a “dictatorship”.
“Since they do not know how to accept the result, they invent apocalypses and try to undermine the constitutional legitimacy” of the prime minister, Izquierdo said.
La derecha entiende así la democracia parlamentaria y el art. 99 de la Constitución: si el resultado es un presidente socialista entramos en una dictadura.
— Javier Izquierdo/❤️ (@javizqui) November 9, 2023
Como no saben aceptar el resultado, inventan apocalipsis y tratan de socavar la legitimidad constitucional del presidente. https://t.co/WI0Jju4J2l
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Spain’s interim government has dismissed questions from the European Commission on a planned amnesty law that forms the core of an agreement between the socialist party and Catalan separatist Junts to support a new government.
In a polite but blunt letter to EU justice commissioner Didier Reynders, dated yesterday, Spanish minister for the presidency, Félix Bolaños García, wrote that the Spanish constitution did not allow caretaker administrations to put legislation before parliament.
Any such legislation, he added, would be proposed by political parties. He did, however, offer to provide more details to the commission if and when the amnesty bill was tabled.
The minister also wrote that he hopes that in his next meeting with Reynders, the commissioner will learn about the Spanish government’s efforts to overcome the institutional, political and social crisis with Catalonia.
He was responding to a letter from Reynders, who asked Spanish ministers for details on the amnesty plan. The European commissioner wrote:
Serious concerns are now being voiced as regards ongoing discussions on the possible adoption of an amnesty law. While for the time being there is no formal proposal, this has become a matter of considerable importance in the public debate and the commission has been contacted on this matter, including by a large number of citizens.
I would therefore be grateful if you could provide me with more detailed information, notably as regards the personal, material and temporal scope of this envisaged law.
Sam Jones in Madrid and Lili Bayer in Brussels
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Junts president Laura Borràs has spoken out on social media, writing that “the political conflict persists” and that “the solution will be democratic”.
Organització, il·lusió i determinació van fer possible el #9N, un exercici de democràcia que van menystenir però que ens enorgulleix.
— Laura Borràs 🎗 (@LauraBorras) November 9, 2023
El conflicte polític persisteix; nosaltres, també. La solució serà democràtica, sí o sí. pic.twitter.com/tQzTm9N942
Protests against deal plan for Catalan separatists
Thirty-nine people, including 30 police officers, were injured earlier this week outside the Madrid headquarters of Spain’s ruling socialist party amid angry demonstrations against the party’s plans to offer an agreement deal to Catalan separatists to help it secure another term in government.
About 7,000 people gathered outside the offices of the Spanish Socialist Workers’ party (PSOE) on Calle de Ferraz on Tuesday night to protest against the proposed agreement.
The demonstration, which was attended by members of the far-right Vox party and by fascist and neo-fascist groups, led to skirmishes between protesters and riot police, who responded with teargas and baton charges.
Video footage of the event showed some participants calling Spain’s acting prime minister, the PSOE leader Pedro Sánchez, a “son of bitch”, a “criminal” and a “dictator”, and referring to Spain’s acting interior minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska – who is gay – as a “faggot”.
According to Madrid’s emergency services, 39 people – most of them police officers – were injured, while the authorities said seven people had been arrested. The confrontations followed similarly violent scenes outside the PSOE headquarters on Monday night.
The controversial issue of the agreement has emerged in the aftermath of July’s inconclusive general election, in which the conservative People’s party (PP) narrowly beat the PSOE. The PP, however, has been unable to muster the necessary support to form a government, meaning that Sánchez and his allies in the leftwing Sumar alliance have the best chance of forming a government. But they can do so only with the backing of the two main Catalan pro-independence parties, the Catalan Republican Left (ERC) and Junts (Together).
Both Catalan parties have said their support for getting the PSOE back into office would be contingent on an amnesty for hundreds of people who participated in the failed push to secede from Spain in October 2017. While the ERC has already reached a deal to back Sánchez, negotiations with Junts are dragging on.
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Portuguese president set to announce next steps following Costa resignation
Portugal’s president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, is expected to make an announcement later today, and could possibly declare his intent to call early elections.
On Tuesday, the country’s socialist prime minister, António Costa, resigned unexpectedly, hours after prosecutors announced that he was under investigation and police searched dozens of addresses, including ministries and his official residence.
The president now needs to decide whether to call new elections. One issue on decision-makers’ minds in the Portuguese state budget for 2024, and there is speculation that the president could delay formally disbanding parliament until the budget is approved.
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Conservative party criticises reported deal between Spanish socialists and Junts party
Cuca Gamarra, secretary general of the conservative People’s party, has spoken out against the reported agreement between Spain’s socialist party and the Catalan separatist Junts party for government support.
Gamarra called the deal “shameful and humiliating,” El País reported this morning.
“We have to see how a fugitive from justice is going to appear from a country that is not Spain to tell us Spaniards how we are not going to be able to apply the rule of law,” Gamarra added, referring to exiled Catalan politician Carles Puigdemont.
Un acuerdo vergonzante y humillante.
— Cuca Gamarra (@cucagamarra) November 9, 2023
Un prófugo nos va a decir que él y sus amigos están por encima de la Ley por obra y gracia de los 7 votos que necesita Sánchez.
El PSOE se rinde, pero España no se humilla y el PP no claudica: el 12 a las 12h salimos a defender este país. pic.twitter.com/7RhWnfLsoL
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Spanish socialists reach deal with Catalan separatist party: reports
Pedro Sánchez’s socialist party has reached an agreement with the Catalan separatist Junts party, paving the way for the formation of a new government, multiple Spanish media outlets reported this morning.
Junts has said it would back a new government with its seven votes in parliament in exchange for a controversial amnesty law.
If confirmed, the agreement could lead to Sánchez formally becoming prime minister again within days.
Updated
Welcome to the blog
Good morning and welcome back to the Europe blog.
It’s a big day for politics in the Iberian peninsula. We will be delving into the latest developments in Spain and Portugal.
Stay tuned and send comments to lili.bayer@theguardian.com.
