Separatist parties agree on new Catalan government

BARCELONA: More than two months after regional elections, Catalonia’s two main separatist parties said on Monday they had reached agreement on forming a ruling coalition, heading off the looming threat of another vote.

The wealthy northeastern region’s separatist parties put aside differences in order to form a government they hope will succeed where a 2017 bid to win the region’s independence from Spain failed.

Three pro-independence parties boosted their showing in the February 14 elections including the leftist ERC and the hardline "Together for Catalonia" (JxC), who have ruled in a regional coalition since 2015. The deal was announced ahead of a May 26 deadline for appointing a new regional leader. Failing that, the region would have had to hold fresh elections.

"We have managed to avoid a repeat election that nobody wanted and to reach a good agreement on forming a strong, unified government," said ERC leader Pere Aragones, who will serve as president of the region of 7.8 million people which is deeply divided over the issue of independence.

"We are beginning a new stage with this agreement on a pro-independence government... in which we can again move forward towards a Catalan republic," he told a news conference. "With this agreement, we can start to... advance towards self-determination and obtain what we were so close to achieving in autumn 2017," said JxC’s secretary-general Jordi Sanchez.