Spain’s Supreme Court could annul the ‘impunity agreement’ currently under negotiation, which separatist leader Carles Puigdemont has set as an ultimatum to support a Sanchez-led government, leader of the centre-right Partido Popular, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, told La Razón.
On 5 September, Puigdemont set out his red lines to support a new Sánchez investiture, but the chief of the main opposition force in parliament (PP/EPP) is confident this can be overturned.
If an amnesty law for those involved in Catalonia’s secessionist attempts in 2017 is finally approved, Spain’s judicial and electoral mechanisms will manage to stop “this agreement of impunity for the (Catalan) independence movement”, Feijóo told the right-wing newspaper.
For the left-wing group of Sanchez and Yolanda Díaz’s Sumar platform to have the backing of Puidgemon’s Together For Catalonia (JXCat), the separatist leader wants recognition and respect for the “democratic legitimacy” of Catalonia’s independence movement and the creation of a mechanism to verify future political agreements.
‘Don’t negotiate with Spain’s dignity’
Sánchez “has once again renounced his principles and his dignity”, but “what he cannot do is negotiate with the dignity of Spain”, Feijóo stressed in the interview,
“Mechanisms in a State of law may take more or less time to work, but they work”, said the right-wing leader, adding that he is now waiting to see what “price Mr Sánchez is willing to pay” and then “we will see what the mechanisms are before the High Court to react”.
The amnesty deal between Sanchez and the separatists will be closely scrutinised in the coming months, according to Feijóo, who trusts Spain’s Supreme Court and the upcoming EU, Basque and Galician elections.
“I am convinced that with the judicial mechanisms, in which I have confidence, and the ethical and electoral mechanisms, we will put an end to this agreement of impunity for independence if it is confirmed,” added Feijóo, who won the snap general election on 23 July, albeit without a majority.
Experts warn about legal hurdles
Meanwhile, several experts have warned about the challenge and complexity of having an amnesty law be in line with the Constitution.
This is because it makes no mention of amnesty, either to allow it or to prohibit it, according to experts, although those in favour of such an extraordinary measure believe that such a loophole means that amnesty is indirectly allowed.
Fernández Vaquero, spokesman for the Association of Judges Francisco de Vitoria (AJFV), told EFE in an interview that an amnesty law “is a measure that is difficult to fit into the Constitution”.
He said that an amnesty law is a “political question” that would have to be dealt with by parliament.
“There is not a single article of the Constitution that prevents it”, Javier Pérez Royo, Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Seville, recently told public radio RNE, RTVE reported.
On Sunday, hundreds of people gathered in many Spanish cities, including Madrid, after spontaneously organising through social media and urged Sánchez not to pave the political way for the approval of an amnesty law.
“Sánchez, pay attention, Spain defends itself” and “Puigdemont to prison” were among the slogans shouted by many demonstrators in the Plaza de Cibeles in the centre of Madrid.
Feijóo begins a new round of meetings with political leaders this week to try to build support for his investiture, as Spain’s King Felipe VI requested.
Feijóo has so far gathered the support of 174 MPs and has until 2 September to receive backing from a majority of 176 MPs.
If neither of the two candidates obtains the necessary support, Spain would have to hold new elections on 14 January 2024.
(Fernando Heller | EuroEFE.EURACTIV.es)
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