Catalan president calls for snap elections in May after failing to pass budget

By Alyssa McMurtry

OVIEDO, Spain (AA) - Catalan President Pere Aragones on Wednesday called for snap elections this May after his government failed to pass a 2024 budget.

Although the government’s mandate does not end until early 2025, Catalan voters will be called to the polls on May 12.

The budget failed to pass by just one vote after the far-left En Comu Podem, a key partner, came out against the spending. It was backed by the regional Socialist Party and one independent politician.

Aragones leads the left-wing separatist party ERC and is set to run for reelection.

“All the red lines between one party and the other meant that the budget with the most resources in history was rejected,” said Aragones in a speech, calling the region’s political groups “irresponsible.”

He said the budget contained €1 billion ($1.095 billion) to combat the region’s historic drought, as well as significant spending increases for the health care system, education, and the housing system.

The dysfunction in the Catalan government mirrors the problems facing the Spanish government in Madrid, which is also encountering roadblocks while negotiating its 2024 budget.

In Madrid, the progressive government relies on the support of a number of conflicting regional parties, including the right-wing Catalan separatist party Together For Catalonia (Junts), which already vetoed the first draft of an amnesty bill to pardon Catalan separatists.

Until the amnesty bill gets through a parliamentary vote, which could happen this week, passing the budget seems highly unlikely.

Within Catalonia, La Vanguardia reports that ERC is seeking to dominate its separatist rivals Junts and CUP, which currently do not have leading candidates for the regional parliament.