A Right-wing former politician has been shot in Madrid by an unknown assailant on a motorbike in the upmarket Salamanca neighbourhood.

Alejo Vidal-Quadras, 78, a former leader of the conservative Popular Party (PP) in Catalonia and a founder of the far-Right Vox, was rushed to hospital in an ambulance and is said to be conscious and stable.

It came after Pedro Sánchez, the Socialist prime minister, reached a deal with Catalan separatists that could pave the way for him to stay in power in exchange for an amnesty.

According to reports, Mr Vidal-Quadras was on a central street when a motorbike pulled up close to him and the pillion passenger shot the politician in the face before the motorbike sped away.

The police are investigating and the area of Núñez de Balboa street where the shooting occurred has been cordoned off.

Mr Vidal-Quadras was born in Barcelona and is known for his strong views against Catalan separatism.

Ultra-conservative party Vox

He led the PP in Catalonia for five years until 1996, when he left the post due to his disagreement with a political agreement between the conservative then-prime minister José María Aznar and a Catalan nationalist party.

He served as an MEP for the PP between 1999 and 2014. He then failed to retain a seat in the European Parliament when running for a new ultra-conservative party called Vox, which has since become Spain’s third-largest political force.

Shortly before being shot, Mr Vidal-Quadras had posted a message on X criticising the deal reached on Thursday between Mr Sánchez and Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont.

“The disgraceful pact between Sánchez and Puigdemont that crushes the rule of law in Spain and ends the separation of powers has been agreed. Our nation will thus cease to be a liberal democracy and become a totalitarian tyranny. We Spaniards will not allow it.”

Other opponents of the agreement branded it “shameful” and said Spain had “been led into a dictatorship by the back door”.

The Junts party led by Mr Puigdemont agreed to back Mr Sánchez’s Left-wing coalition in return for the annulment of legal proceedings against those involved in Catalonia’s attempt to secede from Spain six years ago.

Opposition to amnesty

Mr Puigdemont fled from Catalonia to Brussels and became an MEP. Spain’s conservative opposition forces have expressed furious opposition to any such amnesty, a move Mr Sánchez had consistently opposed before July’s general election left his coalition at the mercy of Catalan parties in order to form a majority.

Santos Cerdán, sent by Mr Sánchez to Brussels to negotiate the deal, said the agreement offered “a historic opportunity to resolve a conflict that can and should only be resolved by political means”.

But the deal was described as “shameful and humiliating” by Cuca Gamarra, chief spokesman for the PP, which won July’s election but could not form a coalition government.

Isabel Díaz Ayuso, the president of the Madrid region for the PP, went further.

“We have been led into a dictatorship by the back door and this is just the start,” she said.

Clashing with police

For almost a week, demonstrators have converged each night on the Madrid headquarters of Mr Sánchez’s Socialist Party, with a minority of far-Right protesters clashing with police on several occasions.

Mr Sánchez has said that the amnesty is in Spain’s interest as it offers an opportunity to restore harmony to relations between Catalonia and the rest of the nation.

The amnesty law could be applied to an estimated 1,400 people who committed crimes or lesser infractions from 2014 onwards in relation to the political conflict between Spain and Catalonia.

The EU Commission has expressed its misgivings about the Catalan amnesty law and its implications for the rule of law.

A letter signed by Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders flagged “serious concerns” over the proposal and included a request for information on its scope.

Amalgam of far-Left

Catalonia’s other main pro-independence force, the Left-wing ERC, had already agreed to support a new term of office for Mr Sánchez in return for concessions including the planned amnesty, a negotiating process on a legal referendum and a condoning of 20 per cent of the region’s debt.

Mr Sánchez’s Socialist Party expects to govern with Sumar, an amalgam of far-Left parties, with parliamentary support from Galician, Basque and Catalan forces.

They still need the support of five lawmakers from the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), which offered early support but said it would wait to see the details of a Socialist-Junts deal before confirming.

At present, even with Junts’ support, the Socialists would still fall short of an absolute majority of 176 seats to win a first round vote in the 350-seat congress.

The vote has to be concluded by Nov 27 or fresh elections are automatically triggered.