King Frederik and Queen Mary of Denmark visit parliament on first day in new position and are joined by Queen Margrethe....

King Frederik and Queen Mary of Denmark visit parliament on first day in new position and are joined by Queen Margrethe and Prince Joachim in a sign all feuds have thawed

By Bridie Pearson-jones For Mailonline

Queen Mary, 51, in a blue skirt suit and dress hat, tiptoed up the stairs into Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen in towering stilettos, alongside husband Frederik, who looked suave in a navy suit.

The royal couple were joined by their son, the newly appointed Crown Prince Christian, 18, as well as Frederik's mother Queen Margrethe, who officially stepped down on Sunday after a 52 year reign.

Also joining the royals at the Danish parliament was Frederik's brother Joachim, 54, who appeared at the ascension without his wife Princess Marie, and Princess Benedikte, who is Margrethe's sister.

Joachim, who famously fell out with his mother when his children lost their Prince and Princess titles, appeared to show it was all water under the bridge as he proudly stood alongside her today.

Once inside, the family listened to speeches from Danish politicians, including the Prime Minister, before the Danish National Girls' choir sang Hans Christian Andersen's 'Denmark, my Fatherland,' causing Mary to cry.

Queen Mary , 51, in a blue skirt suit and dress hat tiptoed up the stairs into Christiansborg Palace - the Danish parliament - in stilettos

Clutching a bouquet, she was joined by the new King as the pair braved -2C weather

On the steps of parliament, Frederik greeted his brother Joachim, showing there's no ill will between the pair

Showing no sign of sadness after stepping down, Queen Margarethe looked delighted as she wondered into parliament

The royal family popped up umbrellas to protect themselves from the sleet in the chilly temperatures

Princess Mary appeared to well up as she listened to 'Danmark, mit fædreland' (Denmark, my fatherland) which was written by Hans Christian Andersen in 1850

Mary listened intensely to the speeches, seemingly taking well in her first day as monarch

The new face of Danish royalty: Crown Prince Christian sat alongside his mother and father as Queen Margrethe and Prince Joachim sat behind

Mary and Christian chatted to one another from the viewing gallery

Christian and Mary spoke to one another from the viewing gallery of parliament

Mary, Frederik and Christian walked into the viewing gallery first and were followed by the rest of the royals

The family stood to sing the national anthem before listening to speeches

Margrethe, known for her quirky fashion sense, opted for a fur coat inside parliament

The royals arrived in three separate cars , baring the Danish flag, before heading into the parliament building

Perhaps in a nod that everything is peaceful within the family, second-born Joachim wore a tie emblazoned with elephants.

The Order of the Elephant (Elefantordenen) is Denmark's highest honour. The honour is typically given to children of the monarch and their spouses, as well as heads of state and foreign royals.

Braving the -2C (28F) temperatures and rainy weather, Mary and Frederik greeted their family outside the building before watching speeches by politicians.

After entering parliament, Mary - clutching a bouquet - headed into the chamber with husband Frederik and son Christian sitting either side of her.

Joachim, Benedikte and Margarethe sat behind as they listened to a speech by Mette Frederiksen, the Danish Prime Minister.

Other MPs also gave speeches before the Danish National Girls' Choir - known as DR Pigekoret - sang to the royal family.

The choir performed, 'Danmark, mit fædreland' (Denmark, my fatherland) which was written by Hans Christian Andersen in 1850.

The poem is about his love for the Danish country and language, and is often proposed as a new national anthem of Denmark.

Mary showed off her new status in a royal blue dress with matching accessorises

Clearly accustomed to the Danish chill, Mary braved the weather in a pair of blue leather gloves

Meanwhile Margarethe, 82, wrapped up warm in a grey fur coat and hat for the celebrations

Frederik sweetly greeted his mother outside of parliament as he took over the new role

Mary looked at ease in her new role as Queen as she carried flowers inside

Prince Joachim, who fell out with his mother over a title row, showed that is was all water under the bridge

Passing the torch! Margrethe looked proud as she took a seat behind her son

The new king seemed at ease in his new role in parliament

Frederik took a seat in the front row with Queen Margrethe behind him

The royals watched over parliament as they delivered speeches

The song is reportedly a favourite of he new Queen's, who closed her eyes and looked emotional as it played.

'It's more than a song. It is a declaration of love for Denmark, for history, for the language, for the culture, for the landscape. A love song that even I, even though I was not born in Denmark, can feel deep in my heart. And I know that you don't have to be born in a country to feel at home,' she said during a speech in 2017.

Joachim, who famously fell out with his mother when his children lost their Prince and Princess titles, appeared to show it was all water under the bridge as he proudly stood alongside her today.

It's been a whirlwind start to the year for the Danish royals.

Queen Margrethe, 82, announced her abdication in a shock New Year's Eve speech.

Yesterday, 100,000 Danes gathered on the streets of Copenhagen to celebrate King Frederik's ascension.

An emotional Frederik promised to be a modern monarch 'of tomorrow' as he asked his 'beloved wife' and family for support during a new reign - but a body language expert has questioned how 'spontaneous' his kiss with Queen Mary was, as he sealed the moment with a public smooch.

In his first public speech after being proclaimed King, the father-of-four, 55, as per a translation by royal blogger Gert's Royals, said: 'My mother, Her Majesty Queen Margrethe the second, has ruled Denmark for 52 years. For half a century, she has followed the times with our common heritage as a starting point.

'She will always be remembered as a Monarch beyond the ordinary. Like few, my mother has managed to be at one with her kingdom. Today, the throne passes on.

'My hope is to become an unifying king of tomorrow. It's a task I've been waiting for all my life. It is a responsibility I take on with respect, pride and great joy.

Beautiful in blue! Mary and Frederik looked delighted to arrive at the parliament building

The couple appeared at ease in their new roles within parliament

They chatted to various politicians and aides on their way in

'It is a deed I will take pains to carry out and carry through the position I have been entrusted with.

'I need all the support I can get. From my beloved wife, from my family, from you and from that which is greater than us. I face the future knowing that I am not alone.

'Bound, committed, for the Kingdom of Denmark.'

The royal was visibly moved at Christiansborg Castle, and wiped away tears at the historic occasions as roaring crowds cheered him on.

But Frederik's 'genuinely happy and highly emotional display' on the balcony revealed potential tensions in his marriage, a body language expert said.

Adrianne Carter told FEMAIL: 'When Mary joins him we initially see quite a distance between the two of them as they hold hands, he moves closer which she accepts. A literal distance can often mean a distance in a relationship.

'When the children join them, they all move in together. Mary encompasses her children showing that's her important focus.'

However, when the King pulls Mary close as the children leave the balcony - Mary is 'the first to pull away'.

She continued: 'Frederik gives Mary a win, which means we're in this together. He pulls her in for a kiss, which he tries to do a few times before it actually happens. This is something he has planned, rather than something spontaneous.'

A beaming Frederik was then joined by his wife Mary - who is now Queen of Denmark - and their children Christian, 18, Isabella, 16 and Vincent and Josephine - both 13

Fireworks were set off over Copenhagen on Sunday evening to celebrate the new Danish King

King Frederik's speech in full

My mother, Her Majesty Queen Margrethe the 2nd, has ruled Denmark for 52 years. For half a century, she has followed the times with our common heritage as a starting point.

She will always be remembered as a Monarch beyond the ordinary. Like few, my mother has managed to be at one with her kingdom. Today, the throne passes on.

My hope is to become an unifying king of tomorrow. It's a task I've been waiting for all my life. It is a responsibility I take on with respect, pride and great joy.

It is a deed I will take pains to carry out and carry through the position I have been entrusted with.

I need all the support I can get. From my beloved wife, from my family, from you and from that which is greater than us. I face the future knowing that I am not alone.

Bound, committed, for the Kingdom of Denmark.

Frederik's 'genuinely happy and highly emotional display' on the balcony revealed potential tensions in his marriage, a body language expert has revealed

Mary was all smiles with an elated Frederik as the pair posed up a storm for adoring crowds on the balcony

The royal, 55, was visibly moved as was proclaimed King on the balcony at Christiansborg Castle

The royal, 55, was visibly moved as was proclaimed King by the Prime Minister at Christiansborg Castle

It comes following rumours that the couple's marriage is on the rocks after Frederik was pictured with Mexican socialite Genoveva Casanova in Madrid without his wife in October.

Just moments before his first appearance as King, Frederik's mother Queen Margrethe II had signed her historic abdication after 52 years as monarch, Danish broadcaster DR has said - and BBC reports say that her poignant last words before leaving the Council of State were: 'God save the King'.

A beaming Frederik was then joined by his wife Mary - who is now Queen of Denmark - and their children Christian, 18, Isabella, 16 and twins Vincent and Josephine, 13.

Sunday's transferrence of power has kicked off as Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary - along with their son Prince Christian - made their way to Christiansborg Castle.

A procession of cars set off with the royals being driven in a 1958 Rolls-Royce from Amalienborg.

Margrethe II followed in a carriage, waving at delighted crowds as she left from Christian IX's Palace.

Both passed through Frederiksgade, Bredgade, Kongens Nytorv, Holmens Canal and Prince Jørgen's Courtyard on the way.

The crowd is pictured in the Christiansborg Castle square during the declaration of abdication of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark

The couple put on a united front as they held hands on the balcony appearance at Christiansborg Palace

At 3pm Danish time, the couple made a balcony appearance at Christiansborg Palace. The Prime Minister then proclaimed the King's accession to the throne

King Frederik was visibly emotional as he was declared the monarch of Denmark on the balcony

At Christiansborg Palace, Margrethe, Frederik, and Christian all took part in a Council of State at with the Government and the Council of State secretary and Her Majesty signed a declaration of her abdication.

Margrethe then made her way back to Amalienborg, while Frederik and Mary are holding a formal reception for specially invited guests.

At 3pm Danish time, the couple made a balcony appearance at Christiansborg Palace. The Prime Minister then proclaimed the King's accession to the throne.

After this, the newly crowned monarch made an impassioned speech as he admitted his wish to be a 'unifying king'.

'I need all the support I can get,' he revealed. 'From my beloved wife, from my family, from you and from that which is greater than us. I face the future knowing that I am not alone.

'Bound, committed, for the Kingdom of Denmark.'

It was followed by an honorary cannon salute from the Sixtus Battery - a heritage site on Holmen, Copenhagen - and the Royal Standard will then be lowered at Christian IX's Palace (Margrethe's home) and reraised at Frederik VIII's Palace, where the new King and Queen are based.

Frederik and Mary then took part in a carriage ride from Christiansborg Palace back to Amalienborg, escorted by a mounted squadron.

At 5pm Danish time, there was a transfer of the royal colours from Christian IX's Palace to Frederik VIII's Palace.

Queen Margrethe's abdication has kicked off as Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary - along with their son Prince Christian - have begun to make their way to Christiansborg Castle

Queen Margrethe II has signed her historic abdication after 52 years as monarch, Danish broadcaster DR has said

Frederik and Mary grinned at crowds as they drove through the streets of Copenhagen for Sunday's abdication

A procession of cars has set off with the royals being driven in a 1958 Rolls-Royce from Amalienborg

Queen Margrethe leaves the Council of State meeting after signing a declaration of abdication at Christiansborg Castle

Margrethe has now made her way back to Amalienborg, while Frederik and Mary are holding a formal reception for specially invited guests. Pictured at the Council of State meeting

Denmark's former Queen Margrethe leaves the place at the head of the table to her son Frederik

Margrethe II followed in a carriage, waving at delighted crowds as she left from Christian IX's Palace

A child wearing a crown, looks on as people gather on the day Danish Queen Margrethe abdicates after 52 years on the throne

Pictured: The honour guard getting ready ahead of royal festivities in Copenhagen, Denmark

Pictured: Crown Princess Mary, Crown Prince Frederik and Queen Margrethe attend the annual opening of the parliamentary session at the Danish Parliament in October 2022

Speaking to FEMAIL, body language expert Adrianne Carter said there were 'no signs of nervousness' from Magrethe as she beamed at delighted crowds from her carriage - and waved

Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary look on during the drive from Amalienborg Castle to Christiansborg Castle

The Queen appeared in high spirits as she rode in the carriage and waved to delighted crowds in the streets

Queen Margrethe II of Denmark leaves for the proclamation of HM King Frederik X and HM Queen Mary

Stable keepers have also been readying the horses in the royal stables of Christiansborg Palace this morning

Well-wishers wearing crowns and coronation robes gathered outside Christiansborg Palace this morning

Speaking to FEMAIL, body language expert Adrianne also said there were 'no signs of nervousness' from Magrethe as she beamed at delighted crowds from her carriage - and waved - when the festivities kicked off Sunday.

'Genuine smiles from the Queen in the carriage,' she explained.

'Full beaming smiles, she's enjoying seeing so many people in attendance.'

Copenhagen's streets were lined to the brim as Sunday's festivities kicked off in the morning.

A live broadcast from regional channel DR1 shows soldiers marching up and down the streets as excited crowds have lined up, donning plastic crowds, Danish flag and various regalia to celebrate the low-key ceremony.

Photos from the event also show security making checks at the balcony of Christiansborg Palace, with only hours to go before Queen Margrethe II's abdication - which she announced on New Year's Eve.

Stable keepers have also been readying the horses in the royal stables this morning.

And earlier Sunday, soldiers from the Danish Guard Hussar regiment appeared to have been rehearsing for the day's events.

Elsewhere, excited royal fans in Copenhagen queued to buy cakes decorated with a seal of the soon to be crowned King Frederik X, displayed in the window of the well-known confectionery shop La Glace.

And the celebrations began as early as last night as Margrethe was seen listening to the public sing to her in Copenhagen on the eve of her abdication.

The royal, 83, ruled Denmark for more than 52 years and became Europe's longest-reigning monarch after Queen Elizabeth II passed away in September 2022.

Photos from the event also show security making checks at the balcony of Christiansborg Castle, with only hours to go before Queen Margrethe II's abdication - which she announced on New Year's Eve

Well-wishers gather in Christiansborg Palace square , adorned in Danish flag regalia in the early hours of the morning

The Danish Royal Horse Guard trains with a proxy carriage

Police officers gather before the ride of the royals from Amalienborg Castle to Christiansborg Castle

The honour guard prepares ahead of the proclamation of HM King Frederik X and HM Queen Mary of Denmark at Amalienborg Palace Square

Danish flags are waved as excited crowds gather round the Amalienborg Palace Square in Copenhagen

A kangaroo balloon - in a seeming tribute to Crown Princess Mary's Australian heritage - is waved in the air

A police officer directs members of the public ahead of the proclamation of HM King Frederik X

Elsewhere, excited royal fans in Copenhagen have been queueing to buy cakes decorated with a seal of the soon to be crowned King Frederik X

People pass an image of Queen Margrethe in Copenhagen, Denmark, ahead of of her passing on the throne to her son on Sunday

Danish royalists took to the streets of Copenhagen this weekend and waved red and white flags to honour their beloved Queen Margrethe

The Queen, known for her chain-smoking and flamboyant style - was seen on the clip walking around her home and peering out at the crowd

The Queen, known for her chain-smoking and flamboyant style - was seen on the clip walking around her home and peering out at the crowd.

Margrethe, who in the past had said she would remain on the throne for life, did not give an exact reason for her decision to step down.

However, she said that a major back surgery she underwent in February last year had made her consider her future.

'The surgery naturally gave rise to thinking about the future - whether the time had come to leave the responsibility to the next generation,' she said in her speech.

'I have decided that now is the right time. On January 14, 2024, 52 years after I succeeded my beloved father, I will step down as Queen of Denmark.

'I leave the throne to my son, Crown Prince Frederik.'

Early doors! Wellwishers have already started gathering at Christiansborg Palace Square ahead of Queen Margrethe's abdication in Copenhagen

The first crowds have started coming together outside the palace for the historic stripped-back event

The sun was yet to rise when the first royal fans started setting up to witness abdication

Pictured: Danish flags fluttered on buildings close to Christiansborg Castle Square ahead of Queen Margrethe's abdication

Denmark's Crown Prince Frederik takes over the crown on Sunday from his mother, Queen Margrethe II

Department store windows display the Danish flag and the Danish crown in Copenhagen

A picture of Danish Queen Margrethe II with a message reading 'Thank you, Your Majesty'

Thousands of people have flooded into Copenhagen to witness the abdication

People look at a picture of the soon-to-be King Frederik X and his wife Queen Mary displayed in a window at a shopping street

Queen Margrethe II is breaking with centuries of Danish royal tradition and retiring after a 52-year reign

Queen Margrethe II rides through Denmark's capital in her final engagement as monarch

In fairytale picturesque scenes, thousands, many cheering and waving flags, braved the freezing temperatures, strong winds, snow and sleet

Dressed in a fur coat, the 83-year-old uses a walking stick as she prepares to greet invited representatives of major national organisations and the royal patronage during her visit to Christiansborg Castle in Copenhagen, on January 4

The monarch delivered the shock news during her traditional New Year's Eve speech.

Danish royalists took to the streets of Copenhagen this weekend and waved red and white flags to honour their beloved Queen Margrethe - and this morning, wellwishers have already started to set up outside Christiansborg Palace Square.

A video posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, captured the public singing to Margrethe outside Amalienborg, Margrethe's winter residence last night.

One of the windows to the palace was left wide open, so that she could hear those who came to sing to her.

Wellwishers with folding chairs donning Danish flags have already started to excitedly line the streets in preparation for this afternoon's events.

The historic occasion is sure to be an exciting event for the nation - but is set to be a much more stripped down transferrence of power compared to King Charles's ornate Coronation in May.

Queen Margrethe, who took to the throne in 1972, has become the first Danish monarch in nearly 900 years to relinquish the throne.

However, during an interview in 2016, she expressed a different opinion.

She said: 'It's always been: you stay as long as you live. That's what my father did and my predecessors. And the way I see it too.'

'It could be that she thinks Prince Frederik is prepared to take over now,' said Lars Hovbakke Sorensen, a historian and associate professor at University College Absalon in Denmark.

'He's 55, and maybe the queen wanted to avoid a situation where you would have a very, very old king, as you saw with Prince Charles.'

The new Danish royal couple will take the throne at a time of huge public support and enthusiasm for the monarchy.

The royal, 83, has ruled Denmark for more than 52 years and become Europe's longest reigning monarch after Queen Elizabeth II passed away in September 2022

The Danish Queen (right) will be succeeded by her eldest son Crown Prince Frederik (centre) pictured with his Australian-born wife Crown Princess Mary

Frederik and Mary will wave from the balcony. The couple are pictured on Frederik's 50th birthday

Mary appeared optimistic as she arrived at the New Year's reception for officers from the Armed Forces and the National Emergency Management Agency

Margrethe II was the eldest of the three daughters of King Frederik IX of Denmark, and succeeded him to the throne in 1972

The most recent survey, which was done after the queen announced she would abdicate, indicated that 82 per cent of Danes expect Frederik to do well or very well in his new role, while 86 per cent said the same about Mary.

'The royal family means everything that is Danish. It's fairytales and traditions,' said Anna Karina Laursen, 59, a nod to the country's famous fairytale writer Hans Christian Andersen.

The Amalienborg complex, built in the 1750s, is located in central Copenhagen and consists of four palaces built around an octagonal courtyard.

It is home to both the outgoing queen and the new reigning couple.

However, a royal expert said that the Danish Queen broke an 'invisible pact' between Scandinavian monarchs to never abdicate.

Roger Lundberg told STV that, after Denmark's changeover, there is a chance King Harald of Norway, 86, and King Carl Gustaf of Sweden, 79, might follow suit and step down to allow their eldest children to take the throne.

New Danish royal titles and line of succession

FIRST IN LINE: Prince Christian will become Crown Prince Christian and is the heir apparent

SECOND: Christian's younger sister, 16-year-old Princess Isabella will become second in lin

THIRD AND FOURTH: Twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine take the next spots in the ranking (pictured with Prince Christian and Queen Margrethe last April)

L to R: Felix (SEVENTH), Marie, Prince Joachim (FIFTH), Athena (NINTH), Henrik (EIGHTH) and Nikolai (SIXTH) in September

TENTH: Queen Margrethe's sister Princess Benedikte, herself 79, takes the final spot in the line of succession

CROWN PRINCE FREDERIK WILL BECOME KING

Frederick, 55, formerly known as Crown Prince Frederick - is set to become His Majesty King Frederick X.

Her Majesty The Queen will continue to be known as Her Majesty and bear the title HM Queen Margrethe.

CROWN PRINCESS MARY WILL BECOME QUEEN

Meanwhile, his wife Crown Princess Mary - who is very popular with the Danish public due to her dedication to royal duty and commitment to learning the language - will become Queen Consort.

She is also set to become the nation's first Australian-born queen.

The couple, who met in a bar in 2000 during the Olympics in Sydney, share four children, who each occupy the next spaces in the line of succession.

PRINCE CHRISTIAN WILL BECOME CROWN PRINCE

Their son Prince Christian will become the next in line to the Danish throne at just 18.

His title will change to Crown Prince Christian as he will be the heir apparent.

He may have to act as head of state when his father is out of the country.

Princess Mary, Frederik's brother Joachim, and Princess Benedikte are able to take over as head of state should Christian be too busy - however he will certainly be required to take on more official duties.

Christian is often referred to as the 'most eligible bachelor in Europe' and his new title will only elevate that status even more.

The new Danish line of succession and titles

MONARCH: King Frederick X (previously Crown Prince Frederick)

Her Majesty The Queen will continue to be Her Majesty and bear the title HM Queen Margrethe.

CONSORT: Queen Mary (formerly Crown Princess Mary)

The Royal Couple will henceforth bear the title The King and The Queen of Denmark

1. Crown Prince Christian (previously Prince Christian)

2. Princess Isabella

3. Prince Vincent

4. Princess Josephine

5. Prince Joachim

6. Count Nikolai

7. Count Felix

8. Count Henrik

9. Countess Athena

10. Princess Benedikte

¿Por qué Pedro Sánchez obedece de buen gusto las peticiones de Puigdemont?

Puigdemont comparece ante Sánchez en el Parlamento europeo. EFE

El martes por la noche, unas horas antes del pleno del Congreso donde debían votarse los tres decretos con los que el Gobierno ponía a prueba la solidez de sus apoyos parlamentarios, tomaron una cena fría en Moncloa -jamón de jabugo incluido- Jordi Turull, Miriam Nogueras y Albert Batet, algo así como la plana mayor de Junts sin contar al jefe supremo, Carles Puigdemont. Los anfitriones fueron María Jesús Montero, Félix Bolaños y Santos Cerdán, el negociador del que dicen los ex convergentes que sí se fían.

El objetivo de esa cena en palacio era cerrar el acuerdo para que los siete votos de Junts avalaran los tres decretos de marras.

Llama la atención la diferencia de trato del Gobierno hacia Junts respecto al modo en que se ha dirigido a otros partidos. Las llamadas de teléfono a la desesperada de Bolaños a Cuca Gamarra, o de Yolanda Díaz a Borja Semper, con el fin de lograr el apoyo de los 137 escaños del PP. O los intentos de última hora para bizcochar a Ione Belarra (Podemos tiene 5 escaños) también por vía telefónica. El esfuerzo para seducir a estos grupos, cuyos votos eran tan vitales o más que los de Junts, fue más bien escaso. No hubo cena con jamón del bueno, ni comida de buffet, ni siquiera chocolate con churros.

Aun con todo, la deferencia del Gobierno con los tres capitostes de Junts no dio resultado. En la cena no se cerró nada concreto y la mañana siguiente el pleno del Congreso se vivió con la espada de Damocles del voto en contra de los independentistas catalanes. Fueron horas de mucha tensión que, finalmente, concluyeron con la ausencia de Junts de la votación (una abstención que en la práctica suponía dar luz verde a los decretos) a cambio de una serie de concesiones. ¿Quién desatascó la negociación? Una conversación telefónica de Puigdemont con Santos Cerdán. El Gobierno todavía no se ha enterado de que en Junts sólo manda uno y ese uno vive en Waterloo.

El acuerdo fue tan precipitado que los diputados del PSOE no se enteraron del acuerdo hasta que la presidenta de la Cámara, Francina Armengol, hizo público el resultado de la votación.

Por parte del Gobierno nadie ha explicado todavía la contraprestación a cambio de salvar dos decretos muy importantes (el tercero se rechazó porque Podemos votó en contra). Pero Junts se apresuró a vender su éxito inmediatamente en forma de comunicado oficial. Era un totum revolutum. El propio título de la nota era la prueba de que Junts había metido en la cesta de peticiones al Gobierno todo tipo de ocurrencias: "Junts per Catalunya se abstiene tras pactar la delegación integral de las competencias de inmigración a la Generalitat y la publicación inmediata de las balanzas fiscales". Y luego se añadían logros tan variopintos como la supresión del artículo 43 bis de la Ley de Enjuiciamiento Civil, o la rebaja del IVA del aceite al 0%. También se apuntaba la reforma de la ley de sociedades de capital para favorecer la vuelta de las empresas a Cataluña, que se marcharon precisamente cuando ellos tenían el poder en la Generalitat.

Ni el Gobierno ni el PSOE han hecho ninguna nota o declaración pública al respecto, a diferencia de lo que ocurrió con el pacto con ERC del mes de noviembre. Todo lo que han hecho desde el miércoles los ministros que han hablado sobre el asunto (Montero, Bolaños o la ministra portavoz, Pilar Alegría) ha sido echar agua al vino.

Para el presidente, Puigdemont se ha convertido en socio preferente, porque sus votos pueden inclinar la balanza de la legislatura

Por lo que parece, el pacto se cerró de forma apresurada y sin concreción. Pero el Gobierno le ha dado a Puigdemont la oportunidad de convertirse en el político clave de Cataluña, alguien que puede lograr cosas que otros (como ERC) no pueden conseguir, como, por ejemplo, la amnistía. Los dirigentes de Junts están encantados con lo que ha sucedido esta semana. El propio Turull ha declarado en una emisora de radio que su partido ha demostrado que no cambia de posición, y que va en serio.

Para completar la felicidad del ex president de la Generalitat, una encuesta del Instituto de Ciencias Políticas y Sociales de Cataluña, publicada este jueves, mostraba dos cosas. Por un lado, que Junts es el partido que más ha crecido en expectativa de voto en el último año en Cataluña (pasando del 8,5% al 15,5%), y que Puigdemont aparece como favorito para volver a presidir la Generalitat (un apoyo del 16,7%, frente a un 12,8% de su archienemigo Oriol Junqueras).

El debate sobre la aplicación de la ley de amnistía oculta una realidad palmaria: Puigdemont es su principal beneficiario. Aunque el Tribunal Supremo plantee una cuestión prejudicial ante el Tribunal de Justicia Europeo (TJUE), el líder independentista podrá volver a España nada más publicarse la ley en el BOE. Y el juez Llarena no tendrá más remedio que levantar las medidas cautelares que pesan sobre él. Es más, como no está condenado, sobre Puigdemont no pesa ninguna inhabilitación. Por tanto, podrá presentarse a las elecciones europeas del mes de junio o a las catalanas cuando se convoquen. Cosa que, por contra, no podrá hacer el líder de ERC, Oriol Junqueras, ya que sobre él sí pesa una inhabilitación para ejercer cargo público que se mantendrá hasta el año 2031. La cuestión prejudicial sólo supone que el proceso queda pendiente hasta que el TJUE decida si la amnistía es contraria a la legislación española y comunitaria.

Así que nos vamos a encontrar con la siguiente situación: Junqueras, que no se fugó y que pasó tres años en la cárcel, no podrá ser candidato hasta dentro de seis años, mientras que su competidor, Puigdemont, que se fugó y que ha vivido a cuerpo de rey en Bélgica, se beneficiará de la amnistía y está capitalizando para sí otros logros como las cesiones del Gobierno de esta semana. Así, no sería extraño que pudiera convertirse en el futuro presidente de la Generalitat.

ERC anda con la mosca detrás de la oreja, por no hablar del mosqueo de Salvador Illa, que ve cómo el Gobierno de Sánchez le está haciendo la campaña a Junts, partido que no tiene nada de izquierdas ni de progresista.

La clave para entender este súbito enamoramiento del Gobierno hacia un socio tan exigente y poco fiable hay que buscarla en el interés del presidente del Gobierno. Mientras que Sánchez cree tener amarrados los votos de Bildu y ERC (por razones ideológicas) e incluso los del PNV (por puro interés de mantenerse en el poder en el País Vasco), los de Junts están en el aire. No hay que olvidar que los siete votos de Junts podrían dar la mayoría al PP en una hipotética moción de censura (la derecha sumaría 178 escaños).

Puigdemont sabe que esa es su fuerza y por eso no le importa mucho filtrar a los medios la reunión de su gente con el líder del PP en el Ayuntamiento de Barcelona, Daniel Sirera, justo después de las elecciones generales. Sánchez sabía que tenía que amarrar los siete votos de Junts para su investidura y esa urgencia fue la que le puso en bandeja al ex president la consecución de la amnistía.

Con Puigdemont, Sánchez ha encontrado la horma de su zapato. Los dos son igualmente amorales, y, para ellos, el fin siempre justificará los medios para lograrlo. Veremos hasta cuándo dura la entente.

UK and US must 'prepare to pay' for strikes on Yemen, warn Iran-backed Houthi rebels who say coalition raids on 60 targets killed five fighters

UK and US must 'prepare to pay' for strikes on Yemen, warn Iran-backed Houthi rebels who say coalition raids on 60 targets killed five fighters - as Russia wades in and accuses West of 'violating international law'

British and American fighter jets launched more than 100 precision Tomahawk missiles at over 60 targets in Houthi-held territory in Yemen in a series of strikes
Yemen LIVE: Iran condemns US and UK-led airstrikes on Houthi targets

By Rachael Bunyan

Furious Houthi forces have vowed to retaliate to a scale 'beyond the imagination' of the West after heavy UK and US air strikes pounded targets across rebel-held areas of Yemen overnight.

British and American fighter jets and warships launched more than 100 precision missiles at over 60 targets in Houthi-held territory in Yemen, with the strikes hitting an airbase, an airport and military camp in a dramatic escalation of the war in the Middle East.

The Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have now vowed to respond to the attacks they claim have killed at least five fighters, with leaders saying the UK and US must 'prepare to pay a heavy price' for their 'blatant aggression'.

Responding to the strikes, the group's spokesperson Mohammed al-Bukhaiti said the US and Britain had 'made a mistake launching the war in Yemen'. He added: 'Soon they will realise that the direct aggression against Yemen was the greatest folly in their history'.

Ali al-Qahoum, a high-ranking Houthi official, went further and said: 'The battle will be bigger... and beyond the imagination and expectation of the Americans and the British.'

Hussein al-Ezzi, a Houthi official in their Foreign Ministry, vowed: 'America and Britain will undoubtedly have to prepare to pay a heavy price and bear all the dire consequences of this blatant aggression'.

Russia, a key ally of Iran, also waded into the row, condemning the strikes as a 'violation of international law aimed at an escalation in the region to attain their destructive objectives'.

And Turkey's President Recep Tayyup Erdogan today condemned the strikes as 'disproportionate' while accusing the UK and US of turning the Red Sea into a 'sea of blood'.

Britain and America launched strikes from the sea and air in response to months of disruptive attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea by the Houthis, with a coalition of nations including the UK and US forced to deploy warships to protect them.

Footage taken from an RAF Typhoon PoOD over Yemen, showing a targeted strike

An RAF Typhoon aircraft takes off to join the US led coalition to conduct air strikes against military targets in Yemen

A missile is launched from a warship during the U.S.-led coalition operation against military targets in Yemen, aimed at the Iran-backed Houthi militia overnight

Huthi fighters brandish their weapons during a march in solidarity with the Palestinian people in the Huthi-controlled capital Sanaa on January 11

One of four RAF Typhoon aircraft returning to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus after joining the US-led coalition conducting air strikes against military targets in Yemen on Friday

An unverified image appeared to show the result and British and US airstrikes in Yemen tonight

The Houthis, an armed movement that took control of most of Yemen over the past decade, have been attacking shipping at the mouth of the Red Sea - one of the world's busiest trade lanes - since October. The action is in support of Hamas terrorists who are fighting Israeli forces, they say.

More than a dozen sites were bombed by Western forces overnight in raids which included submarine-launched Tomahawk missiles and fighter jets.

The strikes hit Al-Dailami Air Base north of Sanaa, the airport in the port city of the Hodeida, a camp east of Saada, the airport in the city of Taiz and an airport near Hajjah, according to Al-Masirah news channel.

Four of Britain's RAF Typhoons used Paveway IV guided bombs to 'conduct precision strikes' on two targets that had been chosen to 'reduce the Houthis' capability to violate international law'. They were assisted by an RAF Voyager refuelling plane.

US defence secretary Lloyd Austin said the airstrikes also targeted sites associated with the Houthi's unmanned drone, ballistic and cruise missile, coastal radar and air surveillance capabilities.

Officials said the Houthi rebels, who have carried out a series of attacks in the Red Sea to disrupt shipping, had ignored a 'final warning' as Mr Sunak signed off on the raids during an emergency cabinet meeting last night.

Iran has been involved in 'every phase' of the Houthi attacks in recent months, a US official added.

The pre-dawn air strikes add to escalating fears of wider conflict in the region, where violence involving Tehran-aligned groups in Yemen as well as Lebanon, Iraq and Syria has surged since the Israel-Hamas war began in early October.

The strikes have fuelled anger in the Middle East, with Iran, Saudi Arabia and Oman all condemning the move by the UK and US.

Mohammed Abdul-Salam, the Houthis' chief negotiator and spokesperson, described the U.S. and Britain as having 'committed foolishness with this treacherous aggression.'

'They were wrong if they thought that they would deter Yemen from supporting Palestine and Gaza,' he wrote online.

He said said 73 strikes had killed five of the group's fighters and wounded six others. The attacks would not go without 'punishment or retaliation' and the group will continue to target ships headed for Israel, added. .

Since the attacks began in November, however, the Houthis have begun targeting vessels with tenuous or no clear links to Israel, imperiling shipping in a key route for global trade.

Separately, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, a member of the Houthi supreme political council, said today the strikes were 'barbaric'.

Hamas also warned today of 'repercussions' following the strikes on their allies.

'We vigorously condemn the flagrant American-British attack on Yemen. We hold them responsible for the repercussions on regional security,' Gaza rulers Hamas said on Telegram.

And an advisor to Iraq's prime minister, Fadi Al-Shammari, warned on Friday the West is expanding the conflict between Israel and Hamas and increasing tensions in the region.

Iran, which supports armed groups around the Middle East including both the Houthis and Hamas, also 'strongly condemned' the US and British attacks, describing them as 'illegal and escalatory'.

Meanwhile, Russia, an ally of Iran and a partner of key Arab powers, called for an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Friday to discuss the issue.

'We strongly condemn these irresponsible actions by the United States and its allies,' Maria Zakharova, Russia's foreign ministry spokeswoman, told reporters.

'A large-scale military escalation in the Red Sea region could strike out the positive trends that have emerged recently in the Yemeni settlement process, as well as provoke a destabilisation of the situation throughout the Middle East.'

Russia, which has been criticised for what the West says is an illegal war in Ukraine, said the attack on Yemen took place without any mandate from the United Nations and was thus an illegal 'adventure' by the United States and its allies.

Meanwhile, Oman's Foreign Minister said the attacks went against the country's advice and 'will only add fuel to an extremely dangerous situation'.

Blaming the Houthis for ignoring 'repeated warnings', UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said in a statement the strikes were 'necessary and proportionate'.

And NATO on Friday said the US-led strikes were aimed at protecting shipping through the Red Sea and urged Iran to 'rein in its proxies'.

'These strikes were defensive, and designed to preserve freedom of navigation in one of the world's most vital waterways. The Houthi attacks must end,' Dylan White, a spokesman for the Western military alliance, said.

An aircraft takes off to join the U.S.-led coalition to conduct air strikes against military targets in Yemen in a picture released on Friday

An RAF Typhoon aircraft takes off to join the U.S.-led coalition from RAF Akrotiri to conduct air strikes against military targets in Yemen in picture released on Friday

An aircraft takes off to join the U.S.-led coalition operation against military targets in Yemen on Thursday night

A military aircraft takes off from the US and British naval fleet on Thursday night

An RAF Typhoon aircraft returns to base at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, after striking targets in Yemen on Friday

Huthi fighters brandish their weapons during a march in solidarity with the Palestinian people in the Huthi-controlled capital Sanaa on January 11

A map of Yemen including the area that is controlled by the Houthi rebels

Mr Sunak said in a statement: 'Despite the repeated warnings from the international community, the Houthis have continued to carry out attacks in the Red Sea, including against UK and US warships just this week.

'This cannot stand. The United Kingdom will always stand up for freedom of navigation and the free flow of trade'The Royal Navy continues to patrol the Red Sea as part of the multinational Operation Prosperity Guardian to deter further Houthi aggression, and we urge them to cease their attacks and take steps to de-escalate.'

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps added: 'The threat to innocent lives and global trade has become so great that this action was not only necessary, it was our duty to protect vessels & freedom of navigation.'

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said the strikes 'targeted sites associated with the Huthis' unmanned aerial vehicle, ballistic and cruise missile, and coastal radar and air surveillance capabilities'.

A joint statement by the United States, Britain, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand and South Korea said the 'aim remains to de-escalate tensions and restore stability in the Red Sea'.

'But let our message be clear: we will not hesitate to defend lives and protect the free flow of commerce in one of the world's most critical waterways in the face of continued threats,' it said.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Friday that Germany backs the United States-led strikes on Houthi targets in the Red Sea.

'The reaction has our political support,' Baerbock said from Kuala Lumpur after a meeting with Malaysia's Foreign Minister, Mohamad Hasan, according to the news agency dpa.

She criticized the Houthis for 'contributing to the destabilization of an already tense regional situation' with their attacks on cargo ships in the Red Sea, calling on the group to 'stop these attacks immediately.'

On Friday, Armed Forces Minister James Heappey played down concerns about the danger of escalation after criticism from Russia, which requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on the strikes.

There are fears over a dramatic regional widening of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and rising tensions with Iran, which backs the Houthis and has condemned the air strikes.

Saudi Arabia has expressed 'great concern' over the situation and has called for 'restraint and avoiding escalation'.

Mr Heappey told BBC Breakfast: 'Clearly there is nervousness amongst those partners in the region that there could be some sort of escalation, but we were confident that these limited, proportionate, necessary strikes that went in last night were what was necessary to disrupt the Houthis' ability to attack our warships that are protecting shipping in the southern Red Sea.

'And clearly nobody should see this as part of anything bigger.'

The minister also said the the Government's 'legal position is sound' and that no more UK strikes are planned for the moment.

Mr Sunak, early on Friday morning, said it 'cannot stand' that the Houthis continued to carry out 'dangerous' attacks against commercial vessels in the Red Sea despite repeated warnings from the international community.

'The United Kingdom will always stand up for freedom of navigation and the free flow of trade.'

The Prime Minister, who is making a surprise visit to Ukraine on Friday, held a full Cabinet call the previous evening in which ministers discussed the response to disruption on the key global shipping route.

In an unusual move, the Government briefed Sir Keir Starmer and shadow defence secretary John Healey after the call.

Sir Keir on Friday expressed support for the action but called for Mr Sunak to make a statement to Parliament 'at the first opportunity'.

With the Commons having finished business for the week and the Prime Minister having no plans to recall Parliament, the Labour leader accepted any statement to MPs was not likely to come before Monday.

'I do want the Prime Minister obviously to make a statement to Parliament as soon as possible because the scope, nature and extent of the operation needs to be explained,' Sir Keir said.

He said he also wanted a summary of the Government's legal position to be published.

The Liberal Democrats demanded a vote on the matter, and the SNP said any military action should be scrutinised in the Commons.

Last night the RAF launched targeted strikes against Houthi military facilities in response to a series of attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea

The return of RAF Typhoon aircraft at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, after striking military targets in Yemen

One of four RAF Typhoon aircraft taking off from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus to join the US-led coalition conducting air strikes against military targets in Yemen last night

An RAF Voyager refuelling aircraft takes off to join the US led coalition to support air strikes against military targets in Yemen

'Parliament should not be bypassed. Rishi Sunak must announce a retrospective vote in the House of Commons on these strikes, and recall Parliament this weekend,' Lib Dem foreign affairs spokesperson Layla Moran said.

Parliament cannot be recalled without the Government asking the Commons Speaker to do so, and such requests are rare.Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defence said early indications are the strikes dealt a 'blow' to the Houthis' ability to threaten merchant shipping in the Red Sea, through which some 15% of the world's shipping passes.

In response, the Houthis said there was 'no justification' for the air strikes and warned that attacks on Israel-linked shipping would continue.

'We affirm that there is absolutely no justification for this aggression against Yemen, as there was no threat to international navigation in the Red and Arabian Seas, and the targeting was and will continue to affect Israeli ships or those heading to the ports of occupied Palestine,' Huthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam posted on X, formerly Twitter.

The Houthis have carried out a growing number of attacks on what they deem to be Israel-linked shipping in the key international trade route since the eruption of the war in Gaza sparked by Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7.

The United States and allies have deployed a naval task force to the area to protect ships, and US and British warships had shot down 21 drones and missiles on Tuesday to repel the biggest Houthi attack so far.

HMS Diamond, a £1billion Type 45 destroyer known as the jewel of the Royal Navy, shot down a series of drones fired by the rebels with a barrage of Sea Viper missiles - which travel three times the speed of sound. US fighter jets were also involved in that operation.

Dramatic pictures showed the moment the British Destroyer shot down the huge wave of missiles and drones fired by the Iranian-backed rebels.

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps called Tuesday's Houthi attack 'the largest to date' and said the UK had taken action to 'protect innocent lives and the global economy'. He said none of HMS Diamond's crew had been injured.

The rebels say their assaults are aimed at stopping Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. But their targets are increasingly random, raising the risk of a US retaliatory strike on Yemen.

Personnel onboard HMS Diamond shoot down drones fired by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels on Tuesday

HMS Diamond, a £1billion Type 45 destroyer known as the jewel of the Royal Navy, shot down the targets with a barrage of sea viper missiles on Tuesday - which travel three times the speed of sound

The attacks are disrupting maritime trade through the Suez canal - a crucial route linking Europe with Asia and the Middle East - leading to delays and price rises for consumers.

The attacks on Tuesday by Houthi rebels were the last straw for Britain and the US, with the two nations launching a barrage of strikes at the Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.

The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, also backed by Iran and engaged in cross-border fire with Israel, criticised the strikes as showing America as being a 'full partner in catastrophes and massacres committed by the Zionist entity in Gaza.'

Yemen has been targeted by U.S. military action over the last four American presidencies.

A campaign of drone strikes began under President George W. Bush to target the local affiliate of al-Qaida, attacks that have continued under the Biden administration. Meanwhile, the US has launched raids and other military operations amid the ongoing war in Yemen.

That war began when the Houthis swept into the capital, Sanaa, in 2014. A Saudi-led coalition including the United Arab Emirates launched a war to back Yemen's exiled government in 2015, quickly morphing the conflict into a regional confrontation as Iran backed the Houthis with weapons and other support.

That war, however, has slowed as the Houthis maintain their grip on the territory they hold. The UAE even came under Houthi missile fire multiple times in 2022. After the Emirates left the war, Saudi Arabia reached a Chinese-mediated deal with Iran to ease tensions in hopes of finally withdrawing from the war.

However, an overall deal has yet to be reached, likely sparking Saudi Arabia's expression Friday of 'great concern' over the airstrikes.

'While the kingdom stresses the importance of preserving the security and stability of the Red Sea region, ... it calls for restraint and avoiding escalation,' its Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Iran, which has supplied weapons and aid to the Houthis, condemned the attack in a statement from Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani.

'Arbitrary attacks will have no result other than fueling insecurity and instability in the region,' he said.

El Gobierno celebra como una victoria su nueva rendición y humillación ante Puigdemont

Pedro Sánchez mira el panel de votaciones en el SenadoEFE

El Ejecutivo salva dos de sus tres decretos ley gracias a un pacto muy caro con Junts. El agónico pleno certifica que Sánchez preside un Gobierno intervenido por un prófugo de la Justicia

La realidad política superó a la política ficción en el pleno del Congreso de este miércoles, celebrado excepcionalmente en el Senado por obras en el hemiciclo de la Cámara Baja. Un acuerdo agónico entre el PSOE y Junts –otro más– permitió a Pedro Sánchez evitar el desmoronamiento de los tres primeros decretos ley de la legislatura, lo que habría supuesto un mazazo de imprevisibles consecuencias.

No obstante, derrota del Gobierno sí hubo, aunque parcial: cayó un decreto ley de los tres y se salvaron el llamado decreto ómnibus y el de medidas anticrisis. Un mal menor para lo que podría haber sido. «Bien está lo que bien acaba», señaló el presidente a la salida. Además, el PSOE endosó el fracaso sin ningún disimulo a Yolanda Díaz y a su guerra con Podemos. El partido de Ione Belarra –y de Pablo Iglesias– ajustó cuentas con la líder de Sumar tras su ruptura nada amistosa y derribó el decreto ley de la reforma del subsidio de desempleo.

El precio que Sánchez pagó a Junts para que no participara en ninguna de las tres votaciones y favorecer así la convalidación de los decretos ley fue altísimo. Lo de menos es ya el coste para la credibilidad de un Gobierno que, hasta horas antes, negaba la posibilidad de retirar del decreto ómnibus el artículo que pone en riesgo la amnistía, según los de Carles Puigdemont. Por arte de magia, este miércoles accedió a eliminarlo durante la tramitación parlamentaria del decretazo, ya como proyecto de ley.

Entre las cesiones del PSOE al partido independentista figura el traspaso a Cataluña de las competencias en materia de inmigración. Pactado con una formación que, hace un mes, culpó a los inmigrantes de los malos resultados de Cataluña en el informe PISA. También figura algo que el PP lleva meses pidiendo al Gobierno: la supresión temporal del IVA del aceite de oliva. De hecho, ésta fue una de las condiciones que los populares pusieron al Ejecutivo cuando el ministro Félix Bolaños tanteó a Cuca Gamarra a principios de semana para conocer su disposición a apoyar, al menos, el decreto anticrisis. La respuesta del Gobierno fue no. A eso y a todo lo demás.

La portavoz de Junts, Míriam NoguerasEFE

La rapidez con la que el PSOE ha concedido a Junts lo que lleva meses negándole al PP viene a confirmar, según los populares, la teoría de Alberto Núñez Feijóo: Sánchez nunca ha pretendido negociar nada con el principal partido de la oposición. El propio Feijóo compareció al final del pleno para mostrar su incredulidad. «España no se merece este esperpento de desgobierno», lamentó.

Un Gobierno intervenido

El angustioso pleno que vivieron el PSOE y Sumar este miércoles fue la demostración práctica de que no hay geometría variable posible en esta legislatura. Lo que hay es un Gobierno con 147 escaños y al que le falta 29 para la mayoría absoluta, cuyas decisiones están intervenidas por un prófugo de la Justicia afincado en Bruselas. Sánchez no podrá liberarse de los grilletes de Junts ni siquiera gobernando por decreto ley. Ya no digamos cuando tenga que negociar la aprobación de proyectos de ley, de esos que hay que llevar al Congreso para su tramitación, con enmiendas de los grupos parlamentarios.

El error del Gobierno, que a punto estuvo de costarle una derrota muy grave este miércoles, ha sido iniciar esta legislatura como si nada hubiera cambiado respecto a la anterior. Entonces, el Consejo de Ministros aprobaba decretos ley sin consultar más que con él mismo y ERC, el PNV y Bildu se enfadaban por el «trágala» de Sánchez, pero solo un poco: el presidente casi siempre conseguía camelárselos.

Ni Junts se parece a ERC ni es lo mismo tener a Podemos dentro del Gobierno que fuera

Sin embargo, en esta legislatura han cambiado muchas cosas. En primer lugar, Junts se ha convertido en un socio inevitable. Y Junts ni se parece ni quiere parecerse lo más mínimo a ERC. Ya dijo su portavoz, Míriam Nogueras, durante el debate de este miércoles: «Recuerden que estamos aquí por Cataluña, no por ustedes ni por el Reino».

En segundo lugar, Podemos ha salido del Consejo de Ministros y no ha tardado en demostrar que si quiere hacer daño puede hacerlo. Mucho. No obstante, su guerra no es contra el Gobierno en general, sino contra Yolanda Díaz en particular. Y en tercer lugar, el Ejecutivo tiene enfrente un poderoso bloque de oposición que suma 171 escaños, así que la barrera está muy alta.

Aunque los socialistas trataron de disimularlo, durante la jornada vivieron muchos nervios. No obstante, nunca perdieron la fe, a la fuerza ahorcan. Ahora se entiende mejor por qué el martes la ministra portavoz y el nuevo ministro de Economía pusieron tanto empeño en no molestar a Puigdemont ni desautorizar su propuesta de multar a las empresas que no quieran volver a Cataluña: en paralelo estaban negociando una reforma en la Ley de Sociedades (lo que han pactado finalmente) para incentivar a las empresas que se marcharon durante el procés y ahora decidan volver.

Por la mañana de este miércoles casi nadie estuvo pendiente del debate de los tres decretos ley porque lo importante estaba pasando fuera: el PSOE y Junts cruzaban llamadas y conversaciones lejos de los focos, en un ambiente de máximo secretismo.

Nadie sabía lo que estaba pasando, y de hecho durante horas circuló el rumor de que los siete diputados de Puigdemont habían votado en contra de los tres decretos ley. Fue un comentario críptico del ministro Bolaños a seis minutos del cierre de la votación telemática lo que empezó a cambiarlo todo: «Nos sobran seis minutos», afirmó con una sonrisa en la boca. Horas después se supo que hablaba en serio: les sobraban esos seis minutos, aunque a los socialistas les faltan relajantes para el ritmo cardiaco si la legislatura sigue a este ritmo, como parece.

Ecuador is out of control as criminal gangs run riot despite the country’s President Daniel Naboa being elected last year on a pledge to fight drug-related violence

These days, many of us are used to seeing shocking footage online. But the scenes that took place in an Ecuadorian TV station this week are in a horrifying new league.

On Tuesday night, masked gunmen with explosives broke into the studio of a public television network during a live broadcast and threatened terrified staff on air. Employees were forced on to the floor where they begged not to be shot as the broadcast continued before the live feed eventually cut out.

Viewers were aghast as they watched the terrifying scenes unfold in the southern city of Guayaquil where the network is based.

First, a man with a pistol appeared in the middle of the transmission, followed by a second man with a shotgun, then a third — before still more followed. With the show’s ‘After the News’ logo as a backdrop, those working in the studio were hauled on to the set at gunpoint.

Masked gunmen with explosives broke into the studio of a public television network during a live broadcast

At one point a woman could be heard pleading with the hooded assailants: ‘Don’t shoot, please don’t shoot.’

At another, screams were followed by the sound of gunshots. The ordeal went on for some 30 minutes and two people were injured — a cameraman was reportedly shot in the leg, and another’s arm was broken — before police surrounded the building and moved in to make 13 arrests.

After the attack, Alina Manrique, the head of news for TC Television, told how she had been ordered on to the floor.

‘They aimed the gun at my head,’ she later said. ‘I thought about my entire life, about my two children.

‘I am still in shock. Everything has collapsed. All I know is that it’s time to leave this country and go very far away.’

This shocking episode is yet more proof that Ecuador is a country out of control as criminal gangs run riot.

The country’s president, Daniel Noboa, was elected last year on a pledge to fight drug-related violence and crack down on the ‘narco’ gangs that wield so much power and have made such vast quantities of money from the drugs trade that they have rendered the small South American country, wedged between Colombia and Peru, all but ungovernable.

On Monday this week, the president introduced a 60-day state of emergency after a notorious gangster ‘vanished’ from his prison cell.

Since then, ten people have been killed, culminating in the heart-stopping assault on the TV studio.

I met General Pablo Ramirez, who is accused of being part of a criminal organisation that allegedly gave ‘prison and judicial benefits’ to a drug trafficker

Afterwards, President Noboa declared that ‘an internal armed conflict’ now existed in his country and he was mobilising the armed forces to carry out ‘military operations to neutralise’ what he termed ‘transnational organised crime, terrorist organisations and belligerent non-state actors’.

It was in effect a declaration of war. For the aim of the gun-toting gangsters in the TV studio was clear: to strike fear into everyone watching and show that nothing and no one is off limits in the battle for control of Ecuador.

I discovered that fear was palpable when, a little over a year ago, I visited the country to investigate the drugs trade.

Never in my three decades reporting on crime for the Mail — which has taken me to 30 countries — had I felt such unease.

It is a place where you never know who to trust and where you are constantly looking over your shoulder.

I was there to report on the rise of Albanian drugs gangs supplying cocaine to Britain and, with Mail photographer Jamie Wiseman, travelled to Guayaquil, the scene of this week’s attack on the TV station.

The murder rate in Ecuador quadrupled between 2018 and 2022, and is relentlessly on the rise. Last year alone, a record 220 tons of drugs were seized there. Journalists who have tried to expose the gangsters have been killed.

Our investigation took us to the heart of the drugs mafia and we met and interviewed a murderous sidekick of one of Ecuador’s top mobsters known as ‘Carlos the Devil’, leader of the country’s branch of the notorious South American criminal gang, the Latin Kings, which works with Albanian narcos to supply cocaine to the UK.

Since I left Ecuador, a senior anti-mafia politician and presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, who helped me with the investigation, has been murdered.

Thankfully, an anti-mafia prosecutor who had survived five attempts on his life and who met me in secret to tell his story is still with us.

Not so lucky was one of his senior colleagues who was shot dead on his way to work.

Meanwhile, the country’s most senior anti-narcotics police chief, whom I interviewed about the scourge of Albanian narcos and local gangsters, has been charged with corruption.

Along with 30 other detainees, including judges, police officers, prosecutors and former officials, General Pablo Ramirez is accused of being part of a criminal organisation that allegedly gave ‘prison and judicial benefits’ to a drug trafficker.

It is true that when I met him I did wonder if he was trustworthy, but I never imagined he might be charged with being part of a corrupt network of senior law enforcement figures. But that is the point about Ecuador — no one can trust anyone as violence and vendettas tear the nation apart.

It is not yet clear whether the incident at the TV studio in Guayaquil was related to the disappearance from a prison in the same city of the boss of the so-called Choneros Gang, 44-year-old Jose Adolfo Macias Villamar — or Fito as he is better known.

Ecuador is out of control as criminal gangs run riot despite the country’s President Daniel Naboa being elected last year on a pledge to fight drug-related violence

Los Choneros is a powerful prison gang whose members have long been involved in deadly jail riots, as well as organising contract killings, extortion and drug dealing across the country from behind bars.

After the escape of the Los Choneros boss and the president’s declaration of a state of emergency this week, Ecuador’s gangs joined together to take on the government and unleash hell.

Riots broke out in at least six prisons, with inmates seizing more than 130 guards as hostages.

Ecuador has as neighbours two cocaine-producing hotspots: Colombia to the north and Peru to the south. It has porous borders, more than 1,300 miles of coastline, and bribery and corruption is rife

One guard was videoed reading out a message at gunpoint.

‘You declared war, you will get war,’ he said. ‘You declared a state of emergency. We declare police, civilians and soldiers to be the spoils of war.’

Explosions have torn through a number of Ecuador’s cities, and the mobsters have been warning that anyone out on the streets at night will be killed.

Hundreds of soldiers, some of them in tanks, are now patrolling the streets of Guayaquil and the capital, Quito.

Residents are too terrified to venture on to the streets and schools have closed, with lessons taking place online.

The country’s armed forces have at least now regained control of some prisons and released photographs of hundreds of prisoners lying face down in their underpants under the eye of gun-bearing soldiers in Litoral regional prison in Guayaquil. Yet amid the anarchy, officials admitted that another narco boss — Los Lobos leader Fabricio Colon Pico — has also escaped after his arrest last Friday for alleged involvement in a plot to assassinate Ecuador’s attorney general.

Despite an attempted crack down on the ‘narco’ gangs, this small South American country is all but ungovernable

So alarmed is neighbouring Peru at events in once peaceful Ecuador, that the government ordered the immediate deployment of a police force to the border to prevent instability spilling over.

The U.S. has condemned the ‘brazen attacks’ and says it stands ’ready to provide assistance’.

But the truth is that the drugs gangs and cartels will not give up easily. For them, the war is about maintaining control over massively lucrative cocaine routes to the U.S., to Europe — and to Britain.

Ecuador may be 6,000 miles from London, but such is the scale of the cocaine-smuggling operation to the UK that the National Crime Agency, Britain’s version of the FBI, has a number of agents based there. In our investigation, the sidekick of top mobster ‘Carlos the Devil’ told us of the levels of violence involved in smuggling cocaine from Ecuador to the UK.

We called him Junior, and he said he had been taught to kill aged just 14 in a savage gang initiation ceremony.

It is a place I am increasingly glad to have left unscathed. The murder rate in Ecuador quadrupled between 2018 and 2022, and is relentlessly on the rise

He admitted he was at the heart of a blood-soaked enterprise with the Albanian mafia to export drugs through the Panama Canal and north across the Atlantic to distribution hubs in Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain.

We learned that Albanian ‘capos’ and their henchmen control every aspect of the trade, right to the end point of the £2 billion cocaine market in virtually all city and suburban areas of Britain. It is Albanian gangs who are supplying drugs from Ecuador in cocaine hotspots such as Brighton.

Ecuador has as neighbours two cocaine-producing nations: Colombia to the north and Peru to the south. It has porous borders, more than 1,300 miles of coastline, and bribery and corruption is rife — particularly in the justice system and the military. Plus there is easy access to guns and an abundant supply of willing assassins, some as young as 12.

The Albanian drug lords are closely linked to the Ecuadorian gangs and pose as legitimate businessmen and investors, using false identities.

They rent homes in ultra-secure and wealthy developments, and spend their time in the gym and at expensive restaurants and hotels.

Many have based themselves in Guayaquil which, according to the U.S. Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, is now one of the main ‘logistical hubs for cocaine that goes to Europe and the rest of the world’.

It’s also the scariest city I’ve ever reported from.

Junior, now in his 30s, told us how the logistics work: ‘The Latin Kings gang in Guayaquil smuggle drugs that originate in Colombia and Bolivia.

‘Cocaine goes via containers from Ecuador to Europe and UK. The man in charge of working with the Albanians is Carlos El Diablo [aka Carlos the Devil].

‘People who work in the docks get paid to help the

criminal gangs. Those in charge of locking and unlocking the containers are targeted with bribes, as are the security staff in charge of the cameras. The price [for cocaine] is $28,000 per kilo.

‘Sometimes as many as 300kg go in a container — huge amounts of money are involved.’

President Noboa is now intent on stemming that flow of money and stopping the gangs. His decree listed the Choneros prison gang as well as 21 others including Junior’s notorious Latin Kings.

Will Chonera’s kingpin and his cohorts in other gangs prevail? Or could the president’s clampdown finally bring peace to this brutal and benighted country?

Whatever the case, the storming of the TV station during a live broadcast marked a chilling new chapter in the history of Ecuador. One with wider implications for law enforcement around the world.