This Friday, Carles Puigdemont once again achieved the media and political attention that he seeks so much. A lover of shocks and fireworks, the leader of Junts gathered around himself in Brussels the entire leadership of the party and dozens of media outlets waiting for what the man holding the frying pan had to say. by the handle of the legislature. And he managed to impregnate the headlines with the message he proclaims in search of a position of strength: “We suspend the sectoral political negotiations with the PSOE.”
But after the grandiloquence came the nuances or direct denials of his own declaration of intent to confirm that, in reality, nothing or almost nothing has changed. Because Puigdemont calls on the PSOE to continue negotiating to fulfill the pending agreements, contemplates the possibility of “regaining trust” in Pedro Sánchez and flatly rules out a motion of censure in collusion with the PP and Vox. That is, the usual.
“There is time for the Government to fulfill its duties and get its act together. The PSOE can comply. If some things happen, that they know what they are, we can regain trust,” he said in his appearance. After announcing the suspension of the negotiations during his first intervention, when asked by the press he admitted, however, that not all of them would be interrupted and that the dialogue with the Government remained intact on issues such as the delegation of immigration powers to the Generalitat of Catalonia. or the use of Catalan in Europe.
Of course, he made the future of his relationship with the Government subject to an “extraordinary and urgent” meeting in Switzerland with the “verification and mediation” mechanism to unblock the blockage of commitments that, in his opinion, the socialists are failing to comply. “We want to know whether the PSOE believes in this agreement or not. If we do not regain trust and what was agreed is not fulfilled, things will not go well,” he warned.
Junts, which has an interest in putting pressure, but not in losing its advantageous position as a parliamentary hinge, is committed to redirecting the crisis. To do this, they trust in a man: Francisco Galindo Vélez, the former Salvadoran diplomat who plays a, for now, discreet role as a “verifier” in the negotiations that PSOE and Junts are holding in Switzerland.
From the independence party they explain that, since the negotiation began in Switzerland under the supervision of Galindo, they had never activated the emergency mechanism that they will now use to force the next meeting with the PSOE. This meeting, they understand, should be solely to discuss the stalemate situation in which their pact has remained.
In Puigdemont’s formation they also consider that the verifier can play a crucial role for the first time, more than listening to the versions of each party, because in this case his will is to demand that Galindo propose a solution. “The way to redirect this is to return to the signed agreement and for there to be verifiable compliance,” say the independentistas.
A week negotiating to avoid the clash at the Table
Accustomed to navigating the slippery slope of depending on Puigdemont, neither the Government nor Ferraz Street wanted to give evaluations of the appearance in Brussels this Friday so as not to add anything resembling a scuffle to a political situation of extreme fragility in itself. But the socialist sources consulted agree that the former president, far from breaking anything, was open to redirecting the legislature if both parties are able to overcome the bunch of disagreements.
One of them was avoided by the Government the day before. On Thursday, the Congressional Committee once again postponed the processing of Junts’ non-legal proposal that urges Pedro Sánchez to submit to a question of confidence, an exclusive prerogative of the president. Although the PSOE is clear that this initiative cannot be processed, it nevertheless avoided the image of a slamming door that would have drastically influenced the tone and messages subsequently launched by Puigdemont.
Throughout the week, the dialogue between the PSOE leadership and the leader of Junts focused on finding a way out of this new stone in the road. And it was agreed that in exchange for not overthrowing the PNL, Puigdemont would leave the door open to rebuilding the bridges of the legislature. Just what ended up happening. They believe in the socialist ranks that the postponement of this procedure gives room for conversations with the Catalan independentists. And that if this dialogue goes well and crystallizes in some agreement, that could finally deactivate the step taken by Junts in Congress, something to which they no longer close the door, although they point out: “We will not withdraw it in exchange for anything.”
In the PSOE, meanwhile, they maintain intact the conviction that the General State Budget item, which has not yet begun to be negotiated, can at least be played. And they also believe that if Puigdemont has decided to raise the price of his support it is because these accounts would represent an almost definitive boost to the stability of the legislature and Pedro Sánchez. But, before that departure, the socialists are preparing to clear the way.
Amnesty, immigration and Catalan
The meeting in Switzerland with the presence of the international mediator will be closed in the coming days and will not take long to take place, according to all the sources consulted. In that meeting Junts will once again demand decisive progress from the PSOE on pending commitments. The main one, the application of the amnesty to Carles Puigdemont and other leaders, is in the hands of the Spanish Justice and not the Government, which has already complied with the approval of the law in exchange for Sánchez’s inauguration. But there are other negotiations underway.
The most advanced is the delegation of powers in migration management to the Generalitat of Catalonia. Although a month ago the agreement between the Catalan independentists and the Ministry of Migration of Elma Sáiz was about to be finalized, a stumbling block prevented the final agreement: Junts’ demand to include the control of border crossings, a red line for the Executive .
Another of the signed agreements is also pending, that of the incorporation of Catalan as a co-official language used in the European institutions, something that does not depend directly on the Government either. The Foreign Ministry has multiplied the steps taken in recent months to achieve this.
Minister Albares sent a letter in this regard to the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, whom he also visited personally with the same objective. Now it remains to be seen if the Spanish Executive manages to introduce the issue on the agenda of the next meeting of the EU General Affairs Council, scheduled for the end of January. And Junts also demands the execution of the pending budget items.
In the socialist ranks they assure that there is room for agreement on each and every one of the issues that Puigdemont puts on the table with the exception of the application of the amnesty, in the hands of the judges after the Government fulfilled its part of approving it and publish it in the Official State Gazette so that it comes into force. And to give space to these approaches, the PSOE considers that it is important not to lose sight of parliamentary time.
The advantage with which the members of the PSOE and Sumar played this Thursday at the Congress Table, in fact, has to do with those times. Because Junts does not have space to present an initiative in plenary until next February 25. In the eyes of the socialists, a golden time to negotiate. “An entire legislature fits in one month,” summarizes the parliamentary group.
What happens is that time is of the essence regarding the parliamentary activity of the Executive. Next week, for example, an extraordinary plenary session is scheduled to validate two decrees. One, the measures that are part of the so-called social shield, such as the extension of the ban on interrupting basic supplies of water, electricity and gas for vulnerable consumers until December 31 or the social bonus discounts. The other, to extend the tax on large electricity companies, a commitment from Moncloa to EH Bildu, ERC and Podemos. Without the support of Junts, the Government is guaranteed parliamentary defeats.
Source: www.eldiario.es
