PSOE and Junts give themselves time after renouncing the vote of confidence

Yesterday, Junts per Catalunya finally withdrew its request for Pedro Sánchez to submit to a vote of confidence. This puts an end to a situation that has strained relations with the PSOE and which, if it had gone ahead, would have left the Government, the socialists and the post-Convergents in a bad light.

The socialists, because although the non-legislative motion (PNL) registered by Carles Puigdemont's party was not binding and did not entail legal consequences, it would have once again highlighted the fragility of the legislature. The situation was also compromised for Junts, since if the proposal had been voted on, it would have done so only with the PP, but above all with Vox. And a new public link with the far right after refusing to support a motion of censure against the mayor of Ripoll, Sílvia Orriols, of Aliança Catalana, would have given rise to public questioning, a new and bad image that is difficult to bear and to justify.

So the “extension” for the PSOE that Jordi Turull, secretary general of the Catalan party, spoke about to the press, is also extra time, a flight forward for Junts.

JxCat relies on the mediator's statement to avoid a new photo with the far right

The withdrawal of the request for a vote of confidence, which would have been debated today and voted on tomorrow in Congress, is by no means a breath of fresh air for both. But it does give PSOE and Junts time to try to understand each other. It is an “extension” without explicit deadlines, moreover, since Turull did not express the duration of this extension, nor did he set a deadline. Nor did he hint that they could reactivate the PNL.

“The executive has discussed the situation and the ambassador’s request and, despite noting that there is no trust with the PSOE, it has decided to respond to the ambassador’s request,” Turull announced yesterday. The ambassador is Francisco Galindo, the international mediator of Salvadoran origin, who has intervened so far on twelve occasions in the conversations between the socialists and post-convergents. He asked JxCat through a statement this weekend to abandon the idea of ​​the question of confidence for the sake of the negotiations .

The PSOE had also made gestures to Junts. The Council of Ministers will approve today Spain's accession to a protocol of the European Convention on Human Rights that will allow the high courts to request advisory opinions from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The post-convergents downplayed the gesture and asserted that it is something that was agreed upon half a year ago.

Jordi Turull admits that trust in the Socialist Party “is very deteriorated”

In any case, Turull said that this decision was taken “to make a final effort to avoid a break-up” and in line with “respect for the opinions of the mediator.”

The leader of the Catalan party justified the decision and reiterated his confidence in the mediator, thus highlighting the need for Junts to use the statement it issued as a basis to avoid a compromised situation for his own party.

“We owe him the trust that we do not have with the PSOE,” Turull stressed. “We have the utmost respect and gratitude for him,” he had said shortly before, since his role “is essential for agreements to be reached.” Thus, the number two of Junts wanted to make it clear that the withdrawal of the proposal was more out of deference to Galindo than out of consideration for the PSOE. “He asks us to avoid breaking off relations,” he stressed before admitting that “trust with the Socialist Party is very deteriorated.”

Read also The Government today approved the adhesion to a protocol that allows the high courts to consult the ECHR

The PSOE and Junts have a stormy relationship that threatens to break down completely at any moment. The Government is interested in maintaining ties for the sake of the stability of the legislature. This is why the socialists avoided making statements about the withdrawal of the PNL with displays of victory. The PSOE was very restrained. It expressed its “respect” for the decision and assured that it reaffirms its “commitment to dialogue”. “Despite the differences that separate us, we continue to trust in negotiation and agreements,” it stated.

Whatever the case, the future relationship is not going to change in any way. Turull made clear Junts' desire to continue negotiating “file by file”, along the lines maintained since Sánchez was sworn in, keeping negotiations to the limit and, if necessary, with political and legislative consequences.

It was on December 9 that Puigdemont asked the President of the Government to submit to a vote of confidence, considering that he was not fulfilling his commitments. The transfer of immigration powers to Catalonia and the official status of the Catalan language in Europe, for example, remain unresolved. The request has only served to tighten the tension since then.

The Government celebrates a withdrawal that “paves the way” for the legislature

The withdrawal of the question of confidence raised by Junts has not only lightened the agenda of this week's plenary session in Congress, but has "paved the way" for a legislature that the coalition government has proposed to last four years. This was evidenced by the "satisfaction" that several sources in the Executive showed yesterday. A novelty in a context in which opacity, camouflaged as "discretion", has prevailed in the relations that the government and Junts have maintained in recent days. "It is good news that the question of confidence has been withdrawn, it shows that this Government talks to exhaustion, a very important characteristic in the times we live in," said the first vice president, Maria Jesús Montero. The Minister of Culture and spokesperson for Sumar, Ernest Urtasun, was equally satisfied, who did not hesitate to put the negotiation of the budgets on the table: "There are political conditions" to get them through, he said. Meanwhile, for the Popular Party, which had shown itself willing to vote in favour of the vote of confidence, what happened “is a humiliation for the whole of national sovereignty and for the whole of the Spanish people”. In an interview on Telecinco, its national president, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, attacked the President of the Government for “having deceived many people, starting with his party”. But he was convinced that the step taken by Junts would not be the final one because, as he predicted, “Sánchez will try to deceive Puigdemont again”. / Asier Martiarena