The government holds the door open to a meeting with Puigdemont before the pressures of Juns | News from Catalonia

The photo between the head of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, and the Expresident and leader of Junts per Catalunya, Carles Puigdemontit will happen and, when that time comes, it will communicate with the corresponding institutional normality. This is how the spokeswoman for the Central Executive, Pilar Alegría, responded to the questions about the latest statements of number two of the independence party. Jordi Turull warned TVE in an interview that If the amnesty does not apply before MayJunts will stop supporting the government.

« If Brussels agreement is not fulfilled, we will not continue to support the government, » Turull said in an interview with the TVE morning program. The Secretary General of Junts recalled that the amnesty « is not applying » to Puigdemont, Catalan is not official in Europe and is still pending that the transfer of immigration competencies to Catalonia already announced.

The decision of Junts Per Catalunya, last February, to withdraw almost in extremis the request to President Sánchez to undergo a matter of confidence in Congress, left the party led by Puigdemont in a complicated situation. The change in such size criteria, which Turull justified for being An international mediator request that guardianship the negotiations with the government in Switzerland, involved giving up its maximum pressure lever before the Executive.

In February, Turull himself justified the flying: « Junts maintains distrust in the PSOE, trust is deteriorated. We give the mediator confidence, in no case to Pedro Sánchez. » In the independence party they know that we must wait until the Constitutional Court ruling on the amnesty so that the future of Puigdemont (and also of the Republican leader Oriol Junqueras) is cleared and, given the impossibility of having other credible pressure springs, they take refuge in what they call the « political amnesty. » That is, the political restitution of Puigdemont.

The fact that it is negotiated with those of Puigdemont both in Congress and in Switzerland – where there is also talk of how to close the political conflict in Catalonia – has already returned to Expresident His status as a relevant political actor. But Puigdemont himself, when he opened to negotiate Sánchez’s investiture, implied that he expected a meeting with the head of the Government. Turull even took it for his day. And his party has affected, for example, that in the visits of the Catalan president Salvador Illa to Belgium there has been no gesture towards his predecessor. Illa, in fact, met with all former presidents within a protocol round. In his day, he also said he would see him when he « touched. » Asked Tuesday about that possible encounter between Chief and former Chief of the Government, spokeswoman Sílvia Paneque has said that « there are no news. »

This is the same approach that has wielded this Tuesday Alegría, in the press conference after the Council of Ministers. « In the press conference that the president of the Government always gives before the Christmas holidays, he already told them at the time that this meeting will arrive when he has to arrive, within the most absolute normality, » recalled the Minister of Education and spokesperson.

On December 24, Sánchez opened the door to a photo with the independence leaders. « I don’t know exactly when, but I will meet with the leaders of Esquerra and Junts, » said the head of the Government. Last week, the Supreme Court confirmed its decision not to apply the amnesty to Puigdemont and the president of the Constitutional Court, Cándido Conde-Pumpido, said he will broadcast before summer His first verdict about the definitive forgiveness to the leaders of the Proces.