♪ anchor: these are the headlines. the u.s. has called on yemen's houthi writers to help their advanced. washington's special envoy says back channels. reporter: one of the first actions the biden administration did was insist it would no longer led the coalition. that was one of the first steps.

above all, the administration wants to reset the ongoing yemen within the terms of a u.n. led negotiation process. that is what it is beginning to do. the same time it wants to achieve balance. they are not seeking to weigh in on the side of any already involved. it is a very careful balance. anchor: and another dramatic change, the biden administration says it is recalibrating its relationship with saudi arabia, breaking with donald trump. joe biden will now speak to the king directly rather than the crown prince. myanmar's military says its power takeover was not a coup and has again pledged to hold elections. the military has filed a second metal charge against deposed leaders. a curfew in the netherlands remains in place. a judge ruled the restrictions had breached to privacy, but

another court has decided. almost 2 million more people in the u.k. are being told to shield themselves from over 19. enter data tool has identified those of high risk. it is based on age and health factors, also where people live. joe biden is heading to the state of wisconsin for his first official trip as u.s. president. that is one of the state that was key to his election victory and has been hit hard by this pandemic. he is expected to make the case for congress to pass his coronavirus relief package. those are the headlines. i will have much more news for you here after inside story. stay with us. ♪

anchor: could catalonia again tried to secede from spain? regional elections have given separate and increased majority. parties that weber state also made a strong showing. @@could this lead to more political chaos? this is inside story. ♪ anchor: hello and welcome to the program. it has been a turbulent three years since catalonia tried to secede from spain. the government in madrid had not authorized the referendum, and afterwards, charge them with sedition. many fled into exile. issue has not gone away and was a major focus of the election.

three separatist parties won enough votes to reach the majority in parliament, but a branch of ruling socialists also one more seats. reporter: separatist parties and catalonia are hailing the boat as a major victory, with the strength of the majority, many say the case for secession has never been stronger. >> iould like to send a message to european authorities. the results are clear. we have a majority. we have reached more than 50% of the popular vote. decathlon people have spoken. the time has come. please get involved. reporter: the cause made international headlines in 2017, when a referendum was held on breaking away from spain. it was not sanctioned or

recognized by madrid and was not legal under spanish law. the government moved against organizers. since then, political power has shifted. the current socialist prime minister is just as opposed as his predecessor. the latest election results has but the fate of the region back on the agenda. >> i am happy independence has the majority. we are altogether and i hope we will come to make an agreement to make a path together. >> it makes me happy that votes in favor of pro-independence has surpassed for percent. there are more people in favor of a referendum. these things help us advance in terms of democracy and conflict solving. reporter: while the games by separatist parties are undisputed, this was unusual. the pandemic may have contributed to an extreme a low turnout.

only 53%, compared to 79% in 2017. the election also saw big gains by the socialists and the right already. both are opposed to succession. -- secession. anchor: let's bring in our guests. a professor of constitutional law at barcelona university. in brussels, peter, and eu policy analyst. and in madrid, christina, editor-in-chief and columnist. welcome to the program. overall, what do the results of this election tell us? >> overall, i think the results tell us that the blast did not move -- the blocks did not move.

voters did not go from one block to another. that means we still have a question on the table. that means also we need to talk about what should be the best solution. and the people voted for independence, although the turnout was not very high. if we look at results, we still need to talk, we still have a question on the table. on the other hand, the issue of the extreme right party who has entered the parliament. this is a big concern. anchor: the fact that the far-right party is going to be entering catalonia's regional parliament, having won 11 seats. they are prounion with spain. how is that going to play with your perspective, and how

popular have they become? >> it is hard to answer in global terms. i think they did very well. [indiscernible] i do not think their political proposals will move much further. i think they will make a lot of noise, that is what they do very well. they know how to grab attention. i do not see them being a very strong political actor in the parliament. a lot of proposals -- i assume. it is very worrying in any case

that in spain, we have not had right-wing extremists parties until recently. it is worrying that they are moving so quickly. they have it precisely based on this anti-catalan a sentiment -- anti-catalonia sentiment. anchor: the fact that pro-independence parties have one more than 50% of the vote, how significant is that? >> i think it is very important. i think it is a confirmation of the fact that there is strong sentiment in cap alarm society -- catalan society to gain more self-control or even independence. i think that is an important fact. we should abandon all pretense that this would not be existing or a fringe movement. it is very present in catalonia.

secondly, for any solution, we need to appreciate that no matter how you look at it, a sizable minority, at these peopleiving in catalonia are against independence. i always say to reconcile that, the obvious solution is switzerland. a very successful decentralized country. i think the spanish government, maybe they should invite the swiss government to mediate, which the swiss government has proposed a few years ago. they should definitely take the swiss model very serious, and abandon the strategy of basically looking away, and hoping that the problem will go away. because, the problem will not go away. in practice, what can be done? one step in the right direction would be to grant catalonia the

same taxation powers that other countries have. i think this would be a wise compromise, at least for supporters of independence, they should see that as a big step forward. anchor: i saw you reacting to some of what peter was saying. did you want to add to the point he was making? >> i think it is still on the table. i actually agree with both. it will be on the table, especially with the fact that we have our catalan readers -- leaders. at the end of the day, four of our last presidents were also from power.

there was never violence here in catalonia. we still have all of our leaders in jail. apart from the tax issues, which many people are defending, we also have the emotional situation where many people feel we are not being treated as we should, more economy, more independence. the polls show also that many people support referendum. we can check how many of us want to stay with spain and how many want to leave. and why not? why not another proposal as peter was saying. a solution like switzerland has for independence, or a federation. there are many solutions. we have to have a proposal from the spanish and catalonian governments. if we do not talk, as people

what they want, even though this is not within the constitution. if you want a solution, you have to find a way to talk and find i solution. -- find a solution. if not, it will stay on the table forever. anchor: i want to ask you, what is the response to the results of these selections from the rest of the country -- rest -- these elections from the rest of the country? >> to peter's comment, it is different in terms of seats in the parliament. the pro-independence caucus has one more than the majority, a little bit more. in terms of votes, at the end, a small turnout around 53% means that only 25% of the people in

the census, in catalonia, the people able to vote have voted. one of the lessons of these results i think is it cannot be taken as -- every election in catalonia has intended to be [indiscernible] i think with 25% of the population would vote going for that solution. it is true that many solutions are on the table. it is also true that we are playing with emotional issues. there are not so many arguments that push for an independent position, because really it does not play well in terms of the economy.

another thing is taxes. let's not forget that the situation in the last years have taken more than 4000 companies, business is go out of catalonia, because out of the start -- uncertainty. i think the solution could be to have all of the regions in spain have the same rights. in that sense, i would not like catalonia to have a singular resolution to be the best country. that is an anomaly. how these results have been taken in the rest of spain, with a bit of, how can i say, people are a bit tired of the issue.

since the results have not been so different, because they do not really solve anything really, and br downs to very -- we are bound to very intense negotiations. that's over, let's focus on the pandemic. anchor: from your vantage point, is it likely that separatist parties will now ask madrid for a referendum? >> it is looking likely. the question is how madrid will react to that. i suspect like in the past, madrid will say we cannot actually grant the referendum because the spanish constitution forbids it, but according to some legal scholars, and advisory referendum could be granted. the question is, will that be enough for the independence movement. frankly, i think even if a majority votes for independence

in a nonbinding referendum, we still need to change the spanish constitution, to do it legally. even if we do all that, the fact remains that a large minority in catalonia will not be happy. i think it is better to go for a gradual approach, and as i mentioned, this definitely means that we should stop attending, or madrid should stop attending that there is no such thing as an independence movement. it is there, it has large support in society. indeed, when talking about giving them the same rights, you could say indeed. there is no reason why that a poor spanish region should not get the same taxation powers. in effect, i think that is one of the strengths of the swiss model. one of the reasons why switzerland is such a wealthy country, because poorer regions could actually outcompete others, by reducing taxes, by

offering an attractive environments to invest, rather than relying on transfers. because, transfers as we have seen, belgium, even in germany, terrible job of boosting development. you can argue if you really care about spain and making spain economically stronger, you need to go through -- go for economic decentralization. anchor: how much is all of this going to affect the trajectory of the pro-secession movement in the years to come? >> they have not move much. the difference is they have divided themselves, and there are many different tendencies. as peter was saying, it is true people in spain are tired of what is happening.

but in catalonia, people are also tired. we need a response. ere are many people who are not. what we are saying here, which would be the best solution? i think it is another strip. once we are here, once we are discussing if catalonia wants to be in spain, as a region, autonomous, or like in switzerland. or a real federation. this would be another discussion. right now, but most parties are asking for is asking for a consultation, even if it is not binding.

why do we want to do a consultation which is not a ferendum? of course it is for political reasons. of course it is for negotiation. in 1999 we had a consultation. i was there with the united nations. it was not binding in 1999. but it still have the political power. i think from here, what many people want is a consultation on the topic. that does not mean independence or the solution. i think most of the people, but -- let myself, we have a solution. that there is a real consultation. i think the government of spain, if the rest of us played well,

there will be a good response. and the u.k. with scotland. the threshold, during election day, yeah. it was a long -- low turnout. the ones that did not turn out regarding for unity. no one questioned other elections. they try to postpone elections but the catalan supreme court said that this was against the constitution and the right to vote. we heard many discussions going on here. i am not saying i agree with one or the other, but i think that the rest of spain and the european union should be aware of the fact that there are big differences regarding the

independence of catalonia. anchor: let me also asked about the issue of turnout. turnout for the selection was far lower than it was in 2017. you mention the concern growing throughout the country because of covid-19, from your point of view, was the low turnout mostly because of fears of contracting the virus? or for their other underlying issues? >> i think both. there was of course to route the virus. we cannot say -- the election was very well organized. how everyone was. there was no real justification for not going to vote just because of covid-19. we have a very good postal system.

i think there has been a lack of organization on both sides. i completely agree. it has been less participation on pro-independence side, and mostly on the others. going back to figures. the total support of pro-independence parties have got 600,000 less votes than previous elections. that is what reflects the lack of organization. anchor: what is the immediate impact of these election results? how long is it going to take negotiations to try and form a government? how messy could this become? or is it going to be relatively easy? >> the interesting thing is that one of the likely government

parties, erc, is actually holds the keys to power, the balance to power in madrid. it is very important for the government of pedro sanchez. i can imagine that this party will say, we want a bnc, and otherwise we will no longer support you. indeed, may have some repercussions on the stability of the spanish government, the central government in madrid. i think from outside of spain, investors, the european union, they basically will wait and see what happens. i have the impression that the current government is more open to engage with catalan nationalists than its predecessors. we will have to see in practice if they actually are willing to make some material concessions.

i do think it is a wise thing for foreign entities in countries to stay out of this. i do not think the eu should side with anyone in this debate. the eu should give honest responses, when people ask ok, the answer is very simple. an arrangement will need to be found, no matter what happens. it is important that both sides talk and sit together, appreciate each other's point of view, not trying to deny the sentiment in catalonia, not trying to deny that some cap lines do not want to be independent. try to find at least a middle way. if you are a catalan nationalists, maybe in 15 years you can get real independence.

but for now, this is very satisfying. anchor: what do you think is going to happen going over but it comes to the negotiations? also, are you concerned that the parliament is only going to become more fragmented? >> regarding independence. i am not totally sure. one of the things from this election is that, in both blocks, the parties that got more votes where the ones that were more for negotiations. the socialist party and spanish government. in cap 20, erc, both are the ones that have started negotiations. they have started to talk. most probably, erc will have the presidency of the catalonian government.

they will be the party with the presidency, the head of the government. together with them, they will have other independence parties maybe, or socialist party. but before elections, they already said that they will not make an agreement to have a government with a socialist party, because they have accused the socialist party of voting for article 155, the article of the spanish constitution. i think the parliament will be very divided, but still will have a government. anchor: we are going to have to leave the discussideon there. thank you so much to all of our guests. thank you watching. you can see the program any time visiting our website, al

jazeera.com, and for further discussion visit our facebook page. you can also join the conversation on twitter. from me and the whole team, bye for now. ♪

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