US wire service Bloomberg News, reporting on today's vote in the Catalan Parliament, has warned that "Catalonia remains a thorn in the side of acting Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez".
Bloomberg reports that pro-independence parties JxCat, ERC and CUP have blocked the nomination of Miquel Iceta (PSC) as a senator, after he was tapped by Sánchez as nominee to become speaker of the Senate, "thwart[ing] Sánchez's plan".
They highlight the opposition to the nomination of ERC, "potentially a key player in a forthcoming parliamentary vote to confirm Sanchez as prime minister". Sánchez may need the party "to abstain to smooth his path to power".
Bloomberg notes that the issue of Catalonia keeps generating "moments of high drama". For example, Tuesday will see the "spectacle" of four of the imprisoned pro-independence leaders taking up the seats in Congress the won in last month's general election.