Catalans to vote in election that is key to Spain’s political stability

Catalans vote on Sunday in a regional election that could determine the stability of Spain’s Socialist-led government and also gauge the strength of a pro-independence movement that has roiled the country for a decade.
A government led by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s Socialist party in Catalonia after a decade of separatist governments would usher in a new era, said political scientist Toni Rodon.
“If the separatists lose their absolute majority in parliament, it would definitely represent a change of cycle,” Rodon said. “Whether this is temporary or long-term, we shall see.”
But a win for the Junts party would bolster the separatist cause and create further predicaments for Madrid. Junts’ candidate is Carles Puigdemont, who was Catalonia’s president during an ill-fated attempt to wrest the region from Spain in 2017, and he has vowed to resurrect an independence bid.