Most Spaniards Against Catalan Pardons, Including Sanchez’s Supporters

The vast majority of Spaniards are against granting pardons to jailed Catalan separatists, and even most supporters of Prime Minister’s Pedro Sanchez’s party, PSOE, are against the move.

Opposition parties, the Supreme Court – and now it seems public opinion – is against granting pardons to 12 Catalan separatist leaders convicted for various crimes in relation to the independence bid in 2017. Nine of them received jail terms of between nine and 13 years in October 2019.

According to a poll conducted by Spanish news outlet OKDIARIO, 71 percent of Spaniards are against the pardons, with even far-left voters not being able to muster convincing support for the idea.

Supporters of the opposition PP and Vox are most strongly against the pardon with their voters being 92.7 percent and 94.3 percent against respectively.

But PSOE voters are also in strong opposition with 67.8 percent against pardons. Just one in five PSOE voters say they would support a decision to release the separatists. Supporters of coalition partners Podemos, a party even more socialist than the Socialist themselves, are 52.7 percent against.

The PP said it was against granting the pardons as the 12 convicted officials show no remorse and would continue to agitate for Catalonia’s independence if released.

“Those convicted have reiterated on numerous occasions that they would do it again, that they would once again subvert the constitutional order,” the leader of the PP Pablo Casado said on May 28.

A decision on the pardons is not likely before June 13 as it could be damaging to Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s favoured candidate in the Andalucian primaries, the current mayor of Sevilla, Josep Espadas.

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