Marlaska Faces Calls to Resign After Spain’s General Strike
Left parties demand Spain's interior minister resign over police charges at strike protests, while the PP wants order. Marlaska ordered an inquiry.
Spain’s interior minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, is under fire from the left and the right after Wednesday’s general strike. Parties to the left of the Socialists (PSOE) want him to resign over police charges against protesters, while the Popular Party (PP) demands “order and security”, according to the Catalan newspaper Ara.
Marlaska has opened an investigation into how police acted and ordered that officers stop using tear gas at demonstrations from now on. The strike landed at the start of the election campaign, which begins at midnight.
Left parties ask for his resignation
Emilio Delgado, the Broad Front candidate for Madrid, was among the first to ask Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to dismiss the minister. He said it was not the first, second or third time police have charged hard against progressive protests, and contrasted that with how police treat far-right demonstrations. Verónica Martínez, Sumar’s spokesperson in Congress, said Marlaska should explain himself first and resign later. Compromís also called for his resignation, saying police violence during the strike was not an isolated case.
Podemos accused police of unjustified aggressions and arbitrary identity checks. Party leader Ione Belarra asked the speaker of Congress, Francina Armengol, for protection in writing. ERC candidate Gabriel Rufián called police action excessive and repeated his party’s earlier demand for Marlaska to go, but did not exempt the PSOE from responsibility.
The Socialists defend the inquiry
The PSOE is trying to absorb the hit. Its spokesperson in Congress, Patxi López, said the party did not like the images of the charges, but that resignation is not being considered while the investigation runs. Socialist sources told Ara that what happened with the charges cannot be tolerated. Sumar minister Ernest Urtasun called the charges “absolutely disproportionate.”
What the right says
The PP and Vox read the strike differently. They call it a failure and a political strike. PP spokesperson Ester Muñoz pointed to pickets against shops and disturbances after the demonstrations and said order and security must be guaranteed. Vox leader Santiago Abascal went further and said that if his party governs there will be no pickets or subsidized unions. Ara notes that this could only happen alongside PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo.
What this means for people in Catalonia
Workers and residents in Spain who plan to join future strikes can check the rules on notice and minimum services in our guide to strikes in Spain and minimum services in Barcelona. The outcome of the Interior Ministry inquiry will show whether further changes to how police handle demonstrations follow.
Source: Ara
