Madrid, 9 November 2023 (dpa/MIA) - In the struggle to form a government in Spain, the Socialists led by caretaker Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez have reached a controversial agreement with the second of the two separatist parties from Catalonia, PSOE member Santos Cerdán said on Thursday.

The PSOE agreed on an amnesty with the Catalan separatist party Junts, led by Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont, who is in exile in Belgium.

The agreement paves the way for Sánchez to govern as premier for another four-year term, coming after the PSOE reached an agreement with the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC).

"We are now ready to embark on a new historic stage in which a negotiated political solution is sought on the basis of respect and recognition of the other side," Cerdán said, according to media reports.

The largest opposition party, the conservative People's Party (PP), and the right-wing populist Vox oppose the amnesty law and further concessions, and thousands demonstrated in front of the PSOE headquarters earlier this week.

The amnesty will benefit the separatists who joined a failed secession attempt in 2017. The discussions suggest it would also apply to separatists in conflict with the Spanish judiciary before or since then.

But the Socialists still need to reach an agreement with the Basque PNV party in order to be able to form a government, a step which is likely to be more difficult.

Pressure is growing on Sánchez who must form a new government by November 27, otherwise new elections would have to be held, on January 14.

The fourth-largest EU economy has lacked a fully functioning government since a July snap election failed to deliver a conclusive result.

Photo: MIA archive