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The socialist Pedro Sanches This Wednesday he asks the Spanish Parliament to reinstate him as president of the government, certain of success thanks to the support of Catalan independence activists obtained in exchange for a controversial amnesty law. In power since June 2018, Sánchez spoke at 12:00 (11:00 GMT) before the Congress of Deputies to present his priorities for a new four-year term.

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In his speech, Pedro Sanches This Wednesday he committed to working hard on Spain like in Europe for Palestine to be recognized as a state if he is re-elected President of the Government.

LOOK: The most controversial points of the agreement between Catalan socialists and independentists to invest Pedro Sánchez

The candidate for President of the Government of Spain He highlighted that this is his “first commitment” for the next legislature, which he will be able to fulfill if he is the chosen in the vote that will take place tomorrow, Thursday and in which the majority support (established at 176 deputies out of a total of 350) of the Chamber.

In his speech, Sánchez demanded that the international community support the consideration of Palestine as a state, a demand “justly demanded by the Palestinian people” and which the socialist leader sees as a solution to the conflict.

He also demanded from Israel an “immediate ceasefire” in Palestine, a peace conference so that “diplomacy can pave the way” and the arrival of humanitarian aid.

Sánchez rejected “the indiscriminate killing of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank” and denounced that international humanitarian law is “clearly not being respected”, while also stating that it was alongside Israel in “rejecting and responding” to the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7 and demanding the release of the hostages.

Absolute majority

Sánchez, who came second behind conservative Alberto Núñez Feijóo in July’s legislative elections, called after the left’s failure in May’s municipal elections, secured the necessary support to remain in power.

Unlike the right-wing leader, who did not obtain the votes to be inaugurated, Sánchez, known for his ability to survive politically, has obtained the support of numerous political parties in recent weeks.

Sánchez counts on the votes of the radical left, with which he has governed for three years, with whom he has committed to increasing the minimum wage again and reducing the length of the working week from 40 to 37.5 hours.

The 51-year-old socialist also received support from the Basque parties PNV and Bildu, but also from the Catalan independence groups, Together for Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont’s party, and the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC).

In total, 179 votes are guaranteed in favor of the 350 deputies in Congress, above the absolute majority required to be invested.

To convince the Catalan parties, Sánchez had to make important concessions, the most controversial of which was an amnesty law for pro-independence supporters prosecuted by the courts, mainly for their involvement in the attempted secession of Catalonia in 2017, one of the worse. political crises in contemporary Spain.

deep division

This measure, which the socialist opposed in the past, will allow “healing wounds” and “resolving the existing political conflict in Catalonia”, claimed the Minister of the Presidency, Félix Bolaños, on Monday night.

The amnesty, demanded by Carles Puigdemont, former Catalan regional president installed in Brussels since 2017 to escape Spanish justice, deeply divides Spanish society.

On Sunday, hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated across the country against the amnesty, called by Alberto Núñez Feijóo’s Popular Party (PP).

And for ten days there were daily demonstrations led by the extreme right in front of the Socialist Party headquarters in Madrid, which sometimes degenerated into violence.

The amnesty “weakens the State, causes a serious social fracture and rewards those who have publicly declared themselves enemies of Spain”, said Miguel Tellado, PP spokesman, who invited Sánchez to leave Spain “in a trunk”, referring to the request by Puigdemont. flight in 2017.

The PP, as well as the far-right party Vox, which calls on Spaniards to “resist” against the “Sanchez coup”, plan to multiply legal appeals against the amnesty.

For the left, certain that this amnesty respects the Constitution, these appeals will not suspend the measure.

The amnesty bill, presented on Monday in Parliament and which Sánchez hopes will be approved in the coming weeks, also raised concern in the judicial sector and even in Brussels, which asked Madrid for “detailed information” about the scope of the measure.

Source: Elcomercio

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I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.