Podemos, the only national party to back a Catalan referendum on
independence from Spain although it has said it would recommend voting
against secession, won 12 parliamentary seats in the wealthy region of 7
million.
Podemos victory in Catalonia a blow for struggling separatists(Reuters)
Left-wing newcomer Podemos, which opposes a split of Catalonia from Spain,
topped polls in the northeastern region in Sunday's Spanish general
election, dealing a blow to Catalan separatists already struggling with
divisions in their movement.
Podemos, the
only national party to back a Catalan referendum on independence from
Spain although it has said it would recommend voting against secession,
won 12 parliamentary seats in the wealthy region of 7 million.
Altogether,
parties opposing a Catalan split from Spain, including the Socialists,
Ciudadanos and the People's Party (PP), garnered 30 seats.
That
compared with the 17 seats won by the pro-independence camp - nine for
leftist party Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya and eight for
centre-right Democracia I Llibertat, the party of acting regional
government head Artur Mas.
Podemos' strong showing
in Catalonia echoed its robust results across the country where it
surged to register third in number of parliamentary seats, beating
fellow newcomer Ciudadanos into fourth place.
But
it is still unclear whether that outcome would be an incentive for
Catalan separatists to park their divisions and take advantage of the
lack of a strong government in Madrid to push their cause.
They
could also choose to seek a renewed dialogue with the central
government and capitalise on the fact that their combined 17 seats will
likely be needed to secure a majority in an investiture vote in Madrid.
"The message in Catalonia is that the pro-independence parties have won less votes than in September's elections," said Lorenzo Navarrete, a professor of sociology at Madrid's Complutense University.
"The
situation of Catalonia is bad for the nationalists because the vote is
split and it's not possible to move towards independence if there is no
majority of the people," he added.
The
separatist movement has become more muddled since the fervour at the
height of the economic crisis in 2012 when frustration over taxes,
unemployment and recession drove more than one million people onto the
streets of Barcelona to clamour for independence.
Pro-independence
parties in Catalonia voted through a controversial resolution last
month calling for secession from Spain and declaring judicial decisions
made at a state level not applicable in the region. But they have also
failed to agree on a joint regional government.
Fringe
left-wing party CUP, which did not present at a national level, is due
to announce later this month whether it backs Mas, who has led the
region since 2010.
If the extreme left party,
which rejects Catalan membership of NATO and the European Union, opts to
support centre-right Mas, the region can form a government. If not,
fresh regional elections would have to be held by March.
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