International press highlight pro-independence forces loss in Catalan election

The Catalan election left a hung parliament with a very uncertain future on who the next president will be.

While the Socialists came first in number of seats and votes, Salvador Illa fell short of an absolute majority, meaning he will need to reach deals for a successful presidential bid.

International media have taken the "blow" suffered by pro-independence forces during Sunday's vote as "for the first time in over a decade, since the independence push began," that these parties fell short of an absolute majority, as POLITICO reports.

On a similar level, French Le Monde newspaper writes about the lost of an absolute majority of pro-independence parties, and praises the "appeasement policies led by Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez, who saw the Socialist party come on top," the paper says.

However, they also warn that the "lack of an absolute majority looms over a political blockage."

"Dealmaking in the coming days, perhaps weeks, will be key to forming a government," The Guardian reports. Before warning that "neither a hung parliament nor a new election is out of the question." 

British BBC also reports that "pro-independence parties lost ground," while they explain that the support for self-determination has dropped to 42%. 

"Overall, nationalist parties lost support, in a blow for the independence movement," BBC also states.

On the other side of the pond, The New York Times reports on the win of the Socialists during an election "dominated by amnesty" and also highlights that for the first time in "over a decade," the government could be "led by a party opposed to self-determination," the newspaper writes.

The American daily reported that many saw the election as a "litmus test for Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez's polarizing amnesty measure."

The Socialists, The New York Times reported, "likely face weeks of bargaining, and possibly a repeat election if no agreement is reached."