The result of the Catalan elections has been a breath of fresh air for the Government and for President Pedro Sánchez who, with the endorsement of his policy of detente with the independence movement, faces the European contest invigorated. The June 9 elections are presented as a second round of the general elections of 23J – in which the PSOE was already the second force – and a validation of the management deployed during these months, in which the amnesty law for guarantee the support of Junts, which now seems a priority for Moncloa. It remains to be certified whether Catalonia's endorsement of Sánchez is also extendable to all of Spain.
Weeks of fiery rhetoric are anticipated that must necessarily be made compatible with the measured discretion of the negotiations to give birth to a government in the Generalitat. In the Executive they are aware of the difficult balance. From Moncloa they announced last week that they would not present any initiative regarding “democratic regeneration” in the short term, after Sánchez urged to address this “pending” debate. After Sunday's elections and until the European elections and the governability scenario in Catalonia were cleared, it was not planned to resume the bilateral forums with the independentists. But the rush to establish clear premises in the short term is going to make that strategy change this Saturday, when a meeting will be held between members of Junts and a PSOE delegation that will take place outside Spain, as LA RAZÓN has learned.
The appointment is due to Moncloa's concern for the future of the legislature, which may be doomed to its end if Carles Puigdemont wants to assert the weight of his seven decisive deputies in Congress, if he does not receive the compensation he wants to be restored to the Generalitat. In the socialist ranks they are aware of the programmatic abyss that separates them, but they seek to keep alive the communication channels that can lead to a cordial agreement, having already overcome tests such as the a la carte amnesty that the neo-convergents requested in exchange for allowing Sánchez's investiture. .
The reestablishment of talks is symptomatic, given that the “dialogue tables” with the sovereigntist parties were paralyzed during the electoral cycle. The ERC was a table between governments, without any route now that they are going to be evicted from the Generalitat and Pere Aragonés has abandoned politics. The one that was established in Geneva with Junts had its founding cause in the need to gain their support for the legislature. And this will once again be the path followed by the dialogue that will be resumed on May 18.
The talks to make Salvador Illa president are also framed in a key of dialogue and it will be the leader of the PSC who will pilot the negotiation process. The Government is convinced that he will be president and that they will be able to persuade some Republicans who face the abyss of an electoral repetition in which they could see their support even more undermined. “There is going to be a government in Catalonia,” they say vehemently. Government sources are cautious, however, about the freedom that each political actor has to “make the demonstrations that he considers appropriate”, in relation to the latest messages launched by Puigdemont claiming his legitimacy to be president despite still seeing the second force, but They immediately point out that there are “issues that don't matter.” «No one buys them. The Catalans have spoken with resounding clarity,” said the Government spokesperson, Pilar Alegría, yesterday about the message sent at the polls to “open a new time.”
However, in the Executive they remember that only 24 hours have passed to manage the results, inviting the rest of the political forces to make a “calm reading”, paying attention, once again, to that “clear” message that the Catalans have launched with their votes. From Moncloa they do not want to enter into future governability formulas and limit themselves to remembering that “the Government of Catalonia is going to be elected in Catalonia”, so it is up to the winner of the elections, Salvador Illa, to pilot the process. They assume, however, “the reality of the times” and how the European elections are going to have an impact on decision-making. “We must be respectful of the deadlines,” they point out, remembering that the constitution of the Parliament can be held until June 10, the day after the aforementioned elections.
Despite the concern, in Moncloa they try to project security and firmly convey that the legislature is not at risk no matter what happens in Catalonia. “There are at least three years left,” the spokesperson insisted insistently, recalling that, although they are aware of “the numerical composition of Congress,” there is experience of “dialogue” and “agreement” on the part of this parliamentary minority government. “The legislature is going to continue moving in this direction,” they say, with “measures that improve the quality of their lives” and “positive economic data.”