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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

Wife of Spain’s PM investigated for corruption

A Madrid court said Wednesday it had opened a preliminary investigation into Begoña Gómez, the wife of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, on suspicion of influence peddling and corruption.

Wife of Spain's PM investigated for corruption

In a brief statement, the court said it had “opened an investigation into the alleged offence of influence peddling and corruption in business against Begoña Gómez”.

It said the investigation began on April 16 and was “subjected to a secrecy order”.

It gave no further details but the statement was issued several hours after online news site El Confidencial published a story saying investigators were looking into Gomez’s ties to several private companies that ended up receiving funds and public contracts from the government.

It said the probe was linked to the alleged ties she had with Spanish tourism group Globalia, which owns Air Europa.

These are alleged to have taken place when the carrier was in talks with the government to secure a huge bailout after it was badly hit by the plunge in air traffic due to the Covid-19 crisis.

At the time, Gómez was running IE Africa Center, a foundation linked to Madrid’s Instituto de Empresa (IE) business school, a position she left in 2022.

El Confidencial said IE Africa Center had “signed a sponsorship agreement with Globalia in 2020” and that Gómez had also “held a private meeting with its CEO Javier Hidalgo at the company’s offices.

At the same time Globalia was negotiating a multi-million euro bailout with the government”.

In November 2020, Sánchez’s government offered a €475-million lifeline to Air Europa.

Asked about the story in parliament on Wednesday, Sánchez said he had faith in the justice system.

“On a day like today, after the news I’ve heard, despite everything, I still believe in Spain’s justice system,” he said.

READ ALSO:

Manos Limpias, which filed the complaint, is headed by Miguel Bernad, a lawyer who was sentenced to four years in 2021 for his role in a scheme to extort major companies.

But he was acquitted by the Supreme Court last month for lack of evidence.

Asked about the El Confidencial story in parliament on Wednesday, Sánchez said he had faith in the justice system.

“On a day like today, after the news I’ve heard, despite everything, I still believe in Spain’s justice system,” he said.

But the right-wing opposition Popular Party (PP) demanded explanations.

“It is imperative that the prime minister holds a press conference to explain,” Ester Muñoz, a senior PP official said.

“This family is being investigated by the court… it is important enough that the prime minister explains himself to the Spanish people.”

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