Galician election defeat not down to Catalan amnesty, say Socialists

It was a day for soul searching for the Spanish Socialists on Monday, after a bruising result in the Galician elections the night before. 

Pedro Sánchez's party, which leads Spain's leftist coalition, argued that their defeat was not down to their policy on an amnesty for the Catalan independence movement, as rivals claimed. 

"We believe that the amnesty did not influence the election results, neither for the Socialists nor for the People's Party," the Socialists' spokesperson Esther Peña said. "Socialists votes went to BNG, a party that clearly supports the amnesty." 

The People's Party (PP) defied recent polls to retain their absolute majority in Galicia. They won 40 seats (-2) in the 75-member chamber, ahead of the Galician Nationalist Bloc (BNG) on 25 seats (+6) and the Socialists languishing on 9 (-5). Ourensan Democracy won one seat. 

Peña admitted that the results of the Galician elections were "not what the party expected," but said that people voted on Galician issues rather than policies in Madrid. 

The reelected president of the Xunta de Galicia, the PP's Alfonso Rueda, said that Galicia "had sent a message to Spain, while Madrid regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso, also of the PP, thanked Galicians for "saving Spain," adding "Feijóo 40, Sánchez 9" in a reference to the number of seats won by the two party leaders. 

Amnesty 

An amnesty for Catalan independence figures became Socialist policy after the last Spanish general election, when Spanish Prime Minister needed votes from Catalan pro-independence parties Esquerra Republicana (ERC) and Junts. 

Negotiations continue over the wording of the amnesty bill after a draft was rejected by Congress with Junts voting against. 

At a press conference on Monday, ERC spokespersons Raquel Sans called for the Socialists and Junts to show "speed and responsibility" to approve the amnesty "as soon as possible." 

"The more time passes, the more risks the law runs," she warned. 

Sans praised BNG's results in Galicia, a historic high for them, and said she regretted that it was not enough to unseat the PP from the Xunta. 

Junts responded to ERC, saying that now was "not the time to rush, but to have a good amnesty law." 

Party spokesperson and vice-president Josep Rius welcome the Socialists' request to Congress's Justice Commission to extend the bill's deadline for two weeks, which Rius said would "buy time" to be able to "negotiate with discretion and rigour."