Pro-independence parties pledge 'common front' in post-election talks with Socialists

Pro-independence parties Esquerra Republicana (ERC) and Junts per Catalonia have pledged to create a "common front" when negotiating with the Socialists after Sunday's general election in Spain resulted in a hung parliament.

Although the conservative People's Party obtained the highest number of seats in the chamber, it fell short of a majority, and now PM Pedro Sánchez's left-wing unionist Socialists are in talks to garner support from other parties in the hopes of remaining in government.

And while pro-independence parties lost over 770,000 votes, with ERC and Junts only obtaining 7 seats each, their 14 MPs are now mathematically crucial to Sánchez's future as the left-wing Socialist-Sumar bloc will need the backing of regional parties if they are to succeed.

Speaking in the Catalan parliament on Wednesday, president Pere Aragonès said Sánchez would have to be "courageous and brave" and called on Junts to "take advantage of the opportunity."

"We will do it better if we do it together," he said. "Together, [Junts and ERC] have 14 decisive MPs in Congress. Representatives from both parties are equally decisive, but only if the 14 of them act together."

Catalan parliament MP Albert Batet, of Junts, answered that his party "would not run away" from doing so, but said that Sánchez would have to be clear about whether the Socialists are serious about "wanting a political negotiation or not."

Only a day earlier, the Socialists said talks would have to take place "within the Constitutional framework," meaning longstanding demands such as an amnesty for independence leaders and a mutually agreed upon independence referendum are likely off the table. 

Catalan Socialist leader Salvador Illa, who was also present at Wednesday's plenary, nonetheless urged the pro-independence parties to be "responsible," while Jessica Albiach, the head of anti-austerity Catalunya En Comú, a party in the left-wing Sumar coalition, called on them to reach an agreement to avoid another general election. 

Vox will "not stand in way" of conservatives

Iván Espinosa de los Monteros of far-right Vox, meanwhile, said in Congress that his party would "not stand in the way" of a People's Party government if Alberto Núñez Feijóo's party were able to secure the backing of some Socialist MPs.

This comes only days after the party said it was ready to either be in the event of a Socialist-led government or for there to be another election down the line, as happened in 2019 with the two Spanish general elections months apart. 

Vox and the People's Party have 169 seats combined, 7 short of a 176 MP majority in the 350-person chamber. 

The likelihood of any Socialist support for a People's Party government, however, is slim, and the People's Party, although it welcomed Espinosa de los Monteros' comments, confirmed that it is not in talks with individual Socialist MPs.