MADRID, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- The prospect of new general elections in Spain seemed more certain on Wednesday after Congress rejected the budget proposed by the Socialist Party (PSOE) government of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
The combined votes of the right-wing People's Party (PP), the center-right Ciudadanos, the regional Foro Asturias and Coalicion Canarias parties, and the Catalan separatist Esquerra Republicana (ERC) and PDeCat parties meant that there were 191 votes against Sanchez's budget with 158 in favor.
Sanchez's PSOE had the support of the left-wing Unidos Podemos and the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), but the failure of the Catalan parties to support the budget was the key factor behind the government's defeat.
Sanchez had attempted to negotiate with the ERC and the PDeCat in order to gain their support, but the two parties had refused vote in favor of the government's proposals without concessions on issues of self-government.
Meanwhile, the start of the trial of 12 Catalan leaders on Tuesday for their alleged role in the Oct. 1, 2016 Catalan independence referendum (which had been declared illegal by the Spanish Constitutional Court) also soured relations between the two parties.
"We cannot and don't want to include the self-determination of Catalonia on the agenda;" said Treasury Minister Maria Jesus Montero during the debate prior to Tuesday's vote.
Among the proposals in the budget were the increase of the minimum wage to 900 euros a month (1,016 U.S. dollars), a pension hike above the rate of inflation, and improved study grants for students.
Sanchez has always stressed that he wants his government to complete its mandate until 2020, but is now expected to confirm a general election (possibly for April 28) after this Friday's cabinet meeting. (1 euro = 1.13 U.S. dollars)
