Catalan President Pere Aragones called on Wednesday for early elections in May this year after his government had failed to pass a budget for 2024.
Elections are scheduled to be held on 12 May.
The budget did not pass by just one vote after the En Comu Podem party opposed the spending, backed by the regional Socialist Party and one independent politician. Aragones heads the ERC party and plans to run for re-election.
All the red lines between one party and the other meant that the budget with the most resources in history was rejected.
Calling the region’s political groups “irresponsible,” the president stated that the budget included 1 billion euros to tackle the area’s historic drought, as well as a significant increase in spending on the health, education and housing systems.
The lack of unity in the Catalan government reflects the challenges also faced by the Spanish government in Madrid, which has encountered obstacles in negotiating the 2024 budget.
The Spanish government is backed by a number of conflicting regional parties, including Together For Catalonia (Junts), which has already vetoed the first draft of an amnesty bill to pardon Catalan separatists.
Until the amnesty bill passes a parliamentary vote, which could happen this week, passage of the budget remains highly unlikely, experts have warned.
