Socialists poised to win power from separatists in Catalonia

Spain’s Socialist party was poised to win Sunday’s election in the north-eastern region of Catalonia as voters turned away from the separatist parties that have long held power. The victory is a boost for Pedro Sánchez, Spanish prime minister and head of PSC, whose government has attempted to defuse tension in Catalonia by pardoning nine jailed separatist leaders and passing an amnesty law that will mean no one else will face punishment for their involvement in the referendum of 2017. The PSC’s result denied a victorious return to Catalonia for Carles Puigdemont, the leader of separatist party Junts who fled Catalonia in 2017 after declaring secession from Spain. It was a bad night, too, for the current president of Catalonia, Pere Aragonès, whose Left-wing separatist ERC party was on course to win just 14 per cent and 20 seats, down from 21 per cent and 33 seats in the previous regional ballot, held in 2021.