Citing a “lack of will” on the part of the socialists, the leader of the separatist Junts per Catalunya (Together for Catalonia) party, Carles Puigdemont, said Sanchez failed to deliver on his 2023 promises.when he convinced seven Junts MPs in the Spanish Parliament to support his bid to stay in power.
The breakup puts Sanchez in a difficult position. Without the support of Junts MPs, the government will not have a majority. The Prime Minister has been unable to approve a new budget since the beginning of this term and has instead governed by extending the 2022 budget and using EU funds for reconstruction. Without the support of Catalan separatists socialists do not have the ability to provide the additional funding needed for meeting US President Donald Trump's demands for Madrid to increase defense spending.
Puigdemont said socialists “no longer have the capacity to govern” and called on Sanchez to explain how he intends to stay in power. The exiled separatist leader seemed to, however reject cooperation with the center-right People's Party and the far-right Vox group to support a motion of no confidence in Sanchez.
“We will not support any government that does not support Catalonia, this or any other,” said the separatist leader, apparently ruling out cooperation with parties that are opposed to the separatist movement.
Unfulfilled promises
During a press conference in Perpignan Puigdemont blasted Sanchez and his Socialist Party for not keeping their promises. In return for Junts' crucial support in 2023, the prime minister's party pledged to pass an amnesty bill benefiting hundreds of separatists and other measures. While many of these promises – including new regulations allowing the use of the Catalan language in the Spanish parliament – have been implemented, others are pending.
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The Spanish parliament passed the promised amnesty law last year, but its full application has been stayed by the courts. Spain's Supreme Court specifically blocked Puigdemont — who fled Spain after Catalonia's failed independence referendum in 2017 and has since lived in exile in Waterloo, Belgium — from taking advantage of the law, citing ongoing embezzlement charges.
The lack of change in his status quo is a source of deep frustration for the separatist leader, who in a 2024 interview with POLITICO said his greatest desire was “to go home to Girona, enjoy my homeland and be with my wife and daughters, […] lead a normal life that will allow me to become anonymous again.”
Puigdemont cited the socialists' inability to secure the recognition of Catalan as an official EU language as another reason for breaking off the partnership. Spanish diplomats have spent the last two years lobbying their counterparts in Brussels and national capitals, and recently persuaded Germany to support the proposal.
However, many countries remain opposed to the idea, arguing that the move would cost the EU millions of euros in new translation and interpretation fees and would embolden Breton, Corsican or Russian-speaking minorities to seek similar recognition.
There was a lack of “political trust”
The separatist leader added that the Sanchez government's reluctance to give Catalonia jurisdiction over immigration in the region proves that while there may be “personal trust” between the Socialists and Junta representatives, there is a lack of “political trust.”
Junts members are now expected to ratify or reject the executive committee's decision in internal consultations that will end on Thursday. Party supporters, including Puigdemont loyalists, are expected to the overwhelming majority will support the movement to break with the socialists.
Conference of Carles Puigdemont, leader of the Junts party. Perpignan, October 27, 2025Ed JONES / AFP / AFP
Over the past two years, Junts has not been a steadfast source of support for Sanchez's weak minority government. The party refused to support key bills and emphasized that she is not part of the “progressive” coalition composed of socialists and the left-wing Sumar party, but a rather pragmatic partner that focuses exclusively on the interests of Catalonia.
At a meeting of the Socialist Party leadership in Madrid on Monday Sanchez stressed that the party should “remain open to dialogue and willing to cooperate” with Junts.
After Puigdemont's speech, Science and Higher Education Minister Diana Morant expressed doubts that “Junts voters voted to allow Vox or the People's Party to govern” and said that Catalan separatists must 'choose whether they want Spain to represent progress or regression'.
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