Catalan, Basque and left-wing parties to snub princess Leonor's constitutional oath

Catalan and Basque pro-independence parties and republican parties from across Spain will not attend the constitutional swearing in of princess Leonor this Tuesday. The event, which celebrates her 18th birthday, will formally confirm the eldest daughter of king Felipe VI as heir to the Spanish crown.

Other absent parties include former king Juan Carlos I, who has been living in Abu Dhabi since 2020 after becoming embroiled in a series of scandals. 

Junts, Esquerra Republicana (ERC), the Basque National Party, Bildu, Podemos, Comuns and United Left (IU) will boycott the ceremony, meaning acting ministers Irene Montero, Ione Belarra and Alberto Garzón will be absent, due to their republican beliefs and opposition to the format and undertones of the event. 

Gerardo Pisarello, the first secretary of the Congress Bureau will also be absent, as confirmed by left-wing group Comuns on Monday. In contrast, Joan Subirats, Universities Minister and member of Comuns, will be present to "guarantee a minimum institutional presence," the party said. 

Spain's second Vice President, Yolanda Díaz, is expected, although MPs from her party Sumar will abstain.

"Democratic anomaly" 

Junts and ERC had already made it known that they would not be attending the event, which takes place amid ongoing negotiations between the pro-independence parties and the Spanish Socialists over the reelection of Pedro Sanchez as prime minister. 

ERC sources defended their absence by saying that the monarchy is a "democratic anomaly" and that Tuesday's ceremony is "another whitewash."