FILE PHOTO: Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez delivers a statement as he announces pardons for jailed Catalan separatist leaders, at Moncloa Palace in Madrid, Spain, June 22, 2021. REUTERS/Juan Medina/File Photo
BARCELONA (Reuters) - Crunch elections in Catalonia next week will test the wisdom of the latest political gambles by Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who aims to use the vote to buoy his power nationally but risks inadvertently awakening a dormant Catalan separatism.
Sanchez aims to wrest control of the wealthy region in the May 12 vote from separatists who wield outsized influence over Spanish politics. But if his Socialists perform poorly, the outcome could mangle his fragile parliamentary alliances in Madrid and undermine the stability of his minority government.
