It's a crucial week for Spanish politics. More than two months since July's general election, the country still doesn't have a government and it may come down to a deal with exiled Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont to break the deadlock.

This Tuesday and Wednesday, the center-right People's Party (PP) leader Alberto Nuñez Feijoo will argue his case to become Spain's Prime Minister for the next four years.

The problem is that the PP simply doesn't have the seats in Congress. The magic number is 176 and the PP, even accounting for an uneasy alliance with the far-right VOX party along with all other potential supporters, can only reach 172.

Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) leader Pedro Sanchez is the only one with a realistic chance of forming a government, but realistically needs the support of hardline Catalan JUNTS party leader Carles Puigdemont.

The price of that support will likely be an amnesty for Puigdemont and other Catalan leaders exiled after the 2017 illegal independence referendum.

The possibility of an amnesty has infuriated the right and a protest on Sunday originally predicted to amass some 10,000-15,000 people ended up attracting many more, with around 40,000 people attending, according to Feijoo.

In the crowd the anger was palpable. "Sanchez traitor" read a sign carried by one male protester. "Pact with Puigdemont and you're a president felon," read another.

After nods to the party's old guard of Mariano Rajoy and Jose Maria Aznar, Feijoo took the stage to a soundtrack of Bruce Springsteen. "It's false, completely false, that Catalan Independence should be decisive in Spain's governance, for decades it's never had fewer votes than now, it's another socialist fallacy," he said to huge applause.

Words and phrases like "indignity" and "abuse of power" also peppered Feijoo's speech.

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"We have a madman in power right now; he's neurotic and narcissistic," said protester Agustin Arias of Sanchez. "Look up the definition in any psychology book and see how it matches his behavior; he lies and manipulates the public.

"Puigdemont is a convicted criminal," Arias continued. "According to the law he should face his charges; he tried a coup d'etat, against a country of 46 million citizens."

"He wants to be the protagonist and stay in power no matter what, and we will do whatever it takes to keep power," said fellow demonstrator Miguel Allepuz.

Six years ago the aftermath of an illegal independence referendum saw some Catalan leaders flee the country, Carles Puigdemont the most prominent. Yet the only realistic chance for Sanchez to form a government with a broad leftist coalition appears to rely on pardoning Puigdemont and his colleagues.

Sanchez's opponents say he is negotiating with fugitives and traitors, but he defends his government's conciliatory approach to Basque and Catalan separatism. The government has already pardoned nine Catalan leaders.

 

'Apocalyptic prophecies'

Catalan independence remains the most divisive issue in Spanish politics and the fact that forming a government could depend on Puigdemont has riled the right.

"We've had five years of apocalyptic prophecies that have never come to pass," Sanchez said last week. Should he decide against the amnesty deal, it's likely that neither a right or left coalition will be able to govern and the country would go to the polls again early next year for a sixth general election in nine years.

Asked what he thought about the protest while on official government business in Barcelona, Sanchez said: "They're protesting against a socialist government, but I'm sorry, there's going to be one."

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