Spain's three right-wing parties have joined together in opposition to prime minister Pedro Sánchez. The leaders of Cs, PP and Vox, Albert Rivera, Pablo Casado and Santiago Abascal respectively, have called a large demonstration for this Sunday in Madrid's plaza de Colón ("Columbus Square", which flies one of the world's largest Spanish flags) in opposition to Sánchez's supposed concessions to Catalonia. This comes the day after the Spanish government announced the bilateral dialogue table between Spanish and Catalan parties would include a "rapporteur". The rightwingers described this as "high treason" and have raised the possibility of a motion of no-confidence.
Besides announcing this protest, Cs and PP have today entered petitions in the Congress for the prime minister to appear before the chamber to explain his conversations with pro-independence parties.
Rivera said he wants the protest to be a "civil front" against Pedro Sánchez to say "enough" to his policy towards Catalonia. "If Sánchez doesn't want to listen to us in the institutions, he'll have to listen to us in the streets," Cs' leader said.
Casado, meanwhile, speaking in Cuenca, he said they had "not only not rectified, but ratified the mediation", referring to comments today by deputy prime minister Carmen Calvo. Given that, his party will "call all Spaniards" to the demonstration to say that "Spain cannot accept independence supporters' blackmail". He has cancelled a trip he had planned to Athens this week.
Calvo had clarified that the proposed rapporteur "isn't an international observer, nor do they come to mediate". Instead, the figure, who will not be paid for their work, is to "convoke and organise" and help with the work between parties which will be "complicated". She said they need to "start thinking about what solutions we offer" and said that "the radicalised right not only doesn't help, but it does completely the opposite".
The last to join was the president of far-right Vox, Santiago Abascal, who said that "over partisan differences, Vox also calls all its sympathisers and all Spaniards to the large mobilisation this Sunday". He added that "this traitorous government which is the prisoner of the coup plotters has to be thrown out".