Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez attends a session at Parliament in Madrid, Spain, Feb 13, 2019. [Photo/Agencies]
MADRID — Spain's lower house has rejected the ruling Socialist government's 2019 spending proposal, paving the way for the possible calling of early elections by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
Catalan separatist lawmakers joined Spain's center-right and conservative opposition parties in voting against Sanchez's budget plan. The six blanket objections put forward by various parties received the backing of 191 lawmakers in the 350-seat Congress of Deputies.
The Catalan parties had refused to back Sanchez's national spending plan unless the government opened the door to negotiations on the northeastern region's self-determination issue. The government has said the country's Constitution doesn't allow that.
Sanchez became prime minister last year when the Catalans joined the anti-austerity Podemos and other smaller parties in backing a no-confidence vote against his conservative predecessor, Mariano Rajoy.
