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Catalan leader unveils new government after coalition crisis

After the Catalan regional coalition was thrown into crisis in recent weeks, a new minority government has emerged after bitter infighting between separatist groups.

Catalan leader unveils new government after coalition crisis
Catalan regional president Pere Aragones. Photo: Pau BARRENA/AFP

Seven new faces entered Catalonia’s regional administration on Tuesday, now a minority government following a crisis that saw the hardline JxCat withdraw from the separatist coalition.

“We are turning a new page and will continue working with total determination,” said regional leader Pere Aragones of the left-wing ERC party following his government’s first meeting without JxCat.

JxCat decided to quit the coalition after 55 percent of party activists voted to leave against 42 percent who wanted to stay.

Although JxCat’s departure left ERC running a minority government with just 33 of the Catalan parliament’s 135 seats, Aragones ruled out early elections, quickly moving to restructure his cabinet.

READ ALSO: Why Catalan separatists are in crisis five years after independence vote

Four of the new ministers are from ERC and three from other allied separatist parties.

In order to pass key measures such as the regional budget, Aragones could seek support from Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s Socialists, whose minority left-wing coalition is backed by ERC within the Spanish parliament.

Although both ERC and JxCat want independence for Catalonia, they have been sharply at odds over how to achieve it.

JxCat is headed by former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont who played a key role in staging the October 2017 referendum banned by Madrid and the failed independence bid that followed, sparking Spain’s worst political crisis in decades.

Puigdemont fled abroad to escape prosecution while others who stayed in Spain were arrested and tried. Nine were handed heavy jail terms by the Spanish courts but later pardoned.

The failed independence bid triggered a bitter rift between the two separatist parties that has never healed.

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POLITICS

Judge insists Spain’s PM testify in person in wife’s corruption probe

A Spanish judge on Friday rejected Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's request to testify in writing in a preliminary corruption probe into his wife's business ties.

Judge insists Spain's PM testify in person in wife's corruption probe

Judge Juan Carlos Peinado, who is leading the inquiry, maintained Sánchez’s hearing for next Tuesday at 11:00 am (0900 GMT), according to a court filing seen by AFP.

He said he had summoned Sánchez as the spouse of Begoña Gómez, not as prime minister — which would have allowed the Socialist premier to testify in writing as he had requested.

The judge is scheduled to question Sánchez at the premier’s official residence.

But Sánchez can testify at a later date in writing about “relevant facts of which he has had knowledge by reason of his position”, the judge added.

The only other time a sitting Spanish prime minister had to testify in a judicial case was in 2017 when Mariano Rajoy was summoned in a graft case that led to the conviction of several members of his conservative Popular Party (PP).

Gomez is being investigated for alleged influence peddling and corruption following a complaint filed by an anti-graft NGO with links to the far-right called “Manos Limpias” – Spanish for “Clean Hands”.

Sánchez claims harassment

Sánchez has denied any wrongdoing by his wife, repeatedly dismissing the allegations as part of a smear campaign against his government.

Sánchez can appeal the judge’s ruling that he must testify in person, or he can choose not to testify.

His wife invoked her right to remain silent under questioning by a judge earlier this month.

Gómez, has worked in fundraising for years, notably for foundations and NGOs. She is alleged to have used her husband’s position as leverage within her professional circles, notably with businessman Juan Carlos Barrabés who was seeking public funding.

In his testimony, Barrabés – who teaches part of a master’s course at Madrid’s Complutense University that is run by Gómez – acknowledged meeting her five or six times at Moncloa, the premier’s official residence.

Sánchez, in power since 2018, was also present at two of those meetings, he said.

Barrabés — who got two letters of recommendation from Gómez before pitching for a public tender worth several million euros – said they only talked about matters of innovation, judicial sources said.

When the probe was opened in April, Sánchez shocked Spain by saying he was considering resigning over what he denounced as a campaign of political harassment by the right.

He took five days to reflect but ultimately decided to stay on.

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