Catalonia's parliament elects separatist Aragones as new region president

FILE PHOTO: The Catalan leader of the Republican Left Party (ERC), Pere Aragones, speaks at a news conference on the agreement to form Catalonia regional government, in Barcelona, Spain, May 17, 2021. REUTERS/Albert Gea

BARCELONA (Reuters) - Catalonia's parliament elected on Friday left-wing separatist Pere Aragones as the new head of the government of the northeastern Spanish region, endorsing his moderate and dialogue-driven strategy to seek independence.

Aragones, from Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya party, was backed by two other hard-line separatist parties, centre-right Junts and far-left CUP, receiving the support of 74 out of the 135 lawmakers three months after the region held an election.