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A8 WORLD NEWS
Thursday 14 February 2019

Budget defeat puts Spain's center-left government on ropes

By ARITZ PARRA minister in June when the
Associated Press Catalans joined the anti-
MADRID (AP) — Catalan austerity Podemos and
separatist and right-wing other smaller parties in
lawmakers in the Spanish backing a no-confidence
parliament's lower house vote against his conserva-
rejected Wednesday the tive predecessor, Mariano
ruling Socialist govern- Rajoy.
ment's 2019 budget plan, Without parliamentary sup-
likely paving the way for port, Sanchez's govern-
Prime Minister Pedro San- ment can't pass significant
chez to call an early elec- legislation and would need
tion. to prolong Rajoy's 2018
The 191-158 vote, with spending plan. That leaves
one abstention, opened a the center-left administra-
new crisis in Spanish poli- tion without funds for social
tics. Members of Sanchez's policies that are key to re-
Cabinet had signaled that taining Podemos' support.
a defeat in the budget Sanchez rushed out of the
vote would lead to a fresh lower house's chamber
general election. Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez arrives at the Spanish parliament in Madrid, Wednesday, shortly after the vote, dodg-
The only other time a Span- Feb. 13, 2019. ing questions by reporters.
ish government lost a bud- Associated Press His finance minister, Ma-
get vote, in 1995, the So- ria Jesus Montero, said it
cialists were forced to dis- Casado, head of the con- talks on the northeastern lower house. Its votes and made sense for Sanchez's
solve the parliament and servative People's Party, region's self-determination those of the anti-austerity term in office, which nor-
call an election. said Wednesday's vote was in exchange for supporting Podemos party weren't mally would end next year,
The prime minister's office "a de facto confidence Sanchez's spending pro- enough to counter a ma- to shortened with the bud-
said Sanchez plans to an- vote against Pedro San- posal, but the center-left jority of center-right, con- get rejection — but that it
nounce his decision after chez." minority government re- servative and smaller par- was up to the prime minis-
the weekly Cabinet meet- Catalan deputies from jected the demand. ties voting in favor of six ter himself to decide if and
ing Friday. pro-independence parties The socialist party holds blanket objections. when to call an election
Opposition leader Pablo had demanded to open only 84 seats in the 350-seat Sanchez became prime early.q

Bus plunges into ravine in North Macedonia, killing 14

Associated Press Prime Minister Zoran Zaev the driver, from the wreck-
SKOPJE, North Macedo- declared two days of na- age.
nia (AP) — A bus carrying tional mourning. Witness Samet Musliu told
workers in North Macedo- The bus was carrying about private Telma TV that res-
nia crashed into a ravine 50 people when it veered cuers had to cut open the
outside the capital of Sko- off a highway linking Sko- bus to reach the injured.
pje Wednesday, killing 14 pje with the western town "There was a strong smell
people and injuring about of Tetovo and plunged 10 of gasoline and we were
30, officials said. meters (30 feet) into a small afraid the bus would ex-
Venko Filipce, the newly re- ravine, landing upside plode," he said.
named European nation's down. The cause of the The bus had been car-
health minister, said seven crash, about 25 kilometers rying workers back from
people were pronounced (15 miles) west of Skopje, Skopje to the town of Gos-
dead at the scene and the wasn't yet known. tivar, about 80 kilometers
rest died after being taken Firefighters and residents of (50 miles) southwest of the
A bus lays overturned at the crash site at village of Laskarci, to a hospital. Six of those a nearby village rushed to capital, where most of
west of Skopje, North Macedonia, Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2019. injured had life-threatening the scene of the crash to them lived, said Gostivar
Associated Press conditions. help pull survivors, including Mayor Arben Taravari.q