The negotiations to reach an investiture agreement between PSOE and Junts are complicated. Although it seemed close, these negotiations fell due to differences between the two parties on the scope of the future amnesty law, a central part of this agreement, according to negotiation sources told RTVE. Among other factors, the differences are centered on determine who will benefit from this amnesty, according to these sources.
The former president of the Generalitat, Carles Puigdemont summoned the leadership of JxCat in Belgium this Thursday to decide whether or not to validate an investment agreement Pedro Sánchez, and a demonstration scheduled at the end of this meeting – although not officially convened -, which in the end will not happen. The meeting, which lasted almost six hours, ended without an agreement.
“We have always said that when dealing with the Spanish political system, all precautions are too little. We remain, and we strengthen ourselves. We will not change the vigilance and caution that we maintain until now no matter how easy others are,” Puigdemont later warned in a message published on the social network X.
This Thursday, the investiture agreement between the socialists and the ERC was also made public, which is also discusses aspects of the amnesty law that Republicans have taken -such as the inclusion of those charged with the Democratic Tsunami or the CDR- and other issues such as the transfer of Rodalies or regional financing.
In a press conference after the agreement with the ERC, the Minister of the Presidency, Félix Bolaños, confirmed that the The pact with Junts is still not closed but he hopes it will be agreed “soon”. He did not provide details about the content of the negotiations and defended that they will be held with “discretion.” Sources in the Junts insisted that they would continue negotiations and did not set any time horizon for the agreement.
Sempre hem dit que per tractar amb el sistema polític espanyol totes precaucions són poques. Ens hi mantenim, i ens hi refermem. No canviarem la prudència i les precaucions que hem mantingut fins ara per més presses que alguns tinguin.
— krls.eth / Carles Puigdemont (@KRLS) November 2, 2023
The Government sees Junts reluctance as theatricalization
The Government is convinced that the party will sign the investiture agreement and they see it as a theatricalization of Junts’ last-minute hesitation. They put their position on the fact that an agreement with the ERC was reached before and they consider that they want to be the last to sign to show that they sell their support at a higher price, according to sources from Moncloa consulted by RTVE. es.
However, the PSOE warned, until there is an agreement with Junts, they will not register the amnesty law in the Congress of Deputies for processing.
Events accelerated this week after meeting last Monday in Brussels with the ‘number three’ of the PSOE, Santos Cerdán, with Puigdemont, fled from Spanish Justice. After the crucial meeting, no agreement was announced, but everything suggests that it is more on the way.
The agreement between the socialists and the republicans on amnesty came a day later, after a fifteen minutes of conversation between Sánchez and Pere Aragonès. Both PSOE and ERC stressed in separate statements that they “consider that their expectations have been met and their political principles have been satisfied” regarding the upcoming amnesty.
The leader of the ERC, Oriol Junqueras, asked today about the fact that Junts has not yet closed its agreement with the PSOE and whether he expects JxCat to also give support to the investiture of Sánchez, demanding “maximum responsibility” from that party. “We would like to think that all political spaces will help this go well,” said Junqueras after announcing the agreement reached between the Republicans and the PSOE.
