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The far-right demonstrations held in Madrid over the last few days in response to a possible amnesty law being passed as well as the prospect of the Socialists (PSOE) reaching an investiture deal with Carles Puigdemont and Together for Catalonia (Junts) dominated much of this Wednesday's Catalan parliamentary session at which the president, Pere Aragonès, faced MPs' questions. If most of the parliamentary groups mentioned the issue in order to condemn the ultras in Madrid and support the Socialists over the unruly demonstrations outside their party headquarters, Ignacio Garriga, leader of Vox in Catalonia, who has himself led the Barcelona anti-PSOE rallies at Carrer Pallars, stood up for them. And, after making a very strong criticism of Catalan Socialist (PSC) leader Salvador Illa for his agreements with the pro-independence parties, he also referred to the left-wing En Comú Podem: "You gentlemen hyperventilating communists, we are going defend the legacy of our grandparents and the future of our children in legitimate defence", Garriga shouted in a threatening tone, addressing Jéssica Albiach and the rest of the deputies of the Comuns. Both she and the spokesperson David Cid heckled him and the leader of En Comú Podem ended up showing her middle finger to the far rightist.

Garriga's accusations against Illa: "Separatist Party of Catalonia"

Garriga started his question to the president of the Generalitat by warning that on this occasion he would not ask any question of Aragonès. Instead, he took advantage of these minutes in front of the Parliament to make a radical defence of the demonstrations that the ultras have held in the last few days in the centre of Madrid, characterised by violence and confrontations. "Today I won't ask him any questions, I will give him a warning", he began, accusing Aragonès of "being the president who has destroyed all public services, allowed crime to take place and degraded all the neighbourhoods of Catalonia". However, the target of his criticism shifted towards the opposition and he thus railed very hashly against Salvador Illa with regard to the pact between the Socialists and the Catalan Republican Left (ERC) for the investiture of Pedro Sánchez, which includes an agreement on the amnesty for pro-independence offences. According to the Vox MP, the Republicans and the PSC "share an agenda" and he renamed Illa's party as the "Separatist Party of Catalonia".

Ignacio Garriga, after seeing the gesture dedicated to him by Jéssica Albiach / Photo: Carlos Baglietto


Going further, Garriga even predicted that Salvador Illa would end up defending an independence referendum, having changed his mind as he did first with the pardons for the pro-independence political prisoners and now with the amnesty. "He criticized the pardons and ended up backing them. He denied the amnesty and now praises it. In a few months will he also promote the self-determination referendum?" asked the far-right leader in Parliament, accusing the leader of the opposition of having betrayed Catalonia and the Catalans.