Feijóo sows confusion in the PP by opening himself to a motion of censure with Junts

The confusion was such that some PP leaders had to go look for the delayed recording of Alberto Núñez Feijóo’s interview on Antena 3 to review it in first person, in disbelief with the news that had appeared in all the media that Alberto Núñez Feijóo did not rule out presenting a motion of censure after the European elections with the support of Junts. Nobody in the conservative party understood what the strategy was behind opening the door in the final stretch of the campaign to this parliamentary instrument that would require the support of Carles Puigdemont’s party, in addition to that of Vox, while, almost at the same time, the candidate of the PP in the European elections, Dolors Montserrat, charged against the PSOE in the EL PAÍS and Cadena SER debate for “handing over governability to a fugitive from justice”, in reference to the leader of Junts. The general conclusion was that, once again, it was a mistake by Feijóo or, in the most benevolent version, a misinterpretation of his words. While the leader’s cabinet tried to control the damage, his main rivals, the PSOE and Vox, launched an attack against the party, underlining the contradiction of the PP being willing to receive the votes of Junts to evict Sánchez from La Moncloa while campaigns against the socialists for having agreed with the party of former president Catalan.

“I don’t understand it,” acknowledged a veteran PP leader. “I see it more as the typical interview that gets out of control without you realizing it,” pointed out a baron. “It’s a mess,” admitted a member of the leadership. “It didn’t seem like a very thoughtful message to me,” acknowledged another territorial leader. The messages of surprise and astonishment were repeated this Monday among different leaders and barons of the PP. The majority of the party did not understand Feijóo’s words, which served an attacking argument to his rivals on a plate. The socialists came out in a rush to exploit the words of the PP leader which, on the one hand, bring closer the possibility of a government of Núñez Feijóo with Santiago Abascal (a threat that worked for the PSOE on 23-J and that it is trying to recover in this European campaign ) and, on the other hand, they normalize the relationship with the Catalan independentists.

Pedro Sánchez framed the words of the president of the PP in the “despair” of the popular people. “Feijóo has outbursts of sincerity in the campaigns: his proposal is a motion of censure with Abascal and Puigdemont. “They are desperate!” said the president at a rally in Gijón. Previously, the Minister of the Presidency, Félix Bolaños, had also attacked the popular leader. “Mr. Feijóo has surprised us, or not so much, by saying that he can present a motion of censure and ask for support for Junts and, therefore, for the Catalan independence movement.” And he added: “Let’s see, Mr. Feijóo and the Popular Party are pure hypocrisy, it is a total deception, they are capable of agreeing with the extreme right in Europe and with the extreme right in Spain and asking please, please, Puigdemont to support them.”

The leader of the PP expressed his willingness to hold a motion of censure with the support of Junts when asked by journalist Susana Griso on Antena 3. Feijóo also linked this possible movement to the result of the European elections this Sunday. “If that social majority that does not agree with what is happening in this environment of political corruption and economic corruption in which Spain operates, in this paralysis of the Government in which we have been in for almost a year, if that social majority becomes in an electoral majority and June 9 sends a message, I understand that all citizens will see the end of the tunnel closer,” the PP leader reflected during the interview. To the express question of whether he contemplates a motion of censure against Pedro Sánchez with the support of Junts, he responded: “What tools are we going to use? All that we consider appropriate. What you refer to is a tool, yes. For that you have to have the right context and think that it can be useful in that context. “That’s what I can tell you, to be a little serious and to respect the institutions of my country a little.”

Feijóo, sources from his cabinet explain, purposely left the door open to the motion, because “he could have ruled it out, and he did not do so,” but they maintain that “he is not considering it at this time” nor is it linked to this Sunday’s result. Feijóo’s team specifies that the party would seriously consider registering this parliamentary instrument against Pedro Sánchez in the event that “the corruption scenario around the Government worsens”, such as, for example, “that Begoña Gómez or José Luis Ábalos are prosecuted ”. In that hypothetical case, the PP would go ahead with a motion “open to all members, not just Junts, or would Podemos continue to support the PSOE in that case?” they ask in Genoa. Why didn’t you avoid giving that opportunity to the PSOE to criticize it in the middle of the campaign? According to Feijóo’s team, because their strategy is also to “generate anxiety for the PSOE” and play at “destabilizing” them with the fear that the Government may lose.

Junts also participates in that game, which remains silent about its plans, fueling speculation. Puigdemont’s party clings to the idea of ​​dealing with “discretion” everything that has to do with the negotiations it may have open with other parties, reports Marc Rovira. Some PP leaders maintain that “Junts is interested in making the PSOE believe that it could overthrow the Sánchez Government to force the PSC to let Carles Puigdemont govern in Catalonia.” An official spokesperson for the PP categorically denies that any meeting was held with Junts to discuss a possible motion of censure. The PP did acknowledge contacts with Puigdemont’s party for Feijóo’s failed investiture last September, conversations that caused a lot of tension between Génova and the leader of the Catalan PP, Alejandro Fernández, who opposes any negotiation.

Feijóo’s words also gave ammunition to his rival on the right, Vox, who quickly ran to distance himself from that operation, arguing that his party is “incompatible” with Puigdemont’s, according to the spokesperson, José Antonio Fúster. The ultras took the opportunity to charge against the PP, ironically about what they were going to offer the leader of Junts in exchange for his support, whether “a presidency of the Generalitat, a square named after him or they are going to put a flat in the Diagonal”. While the PP’s advantage over the PSOE narrows – the Popular Party would obtain 23 seats and the Socialists 20, according to the 40dB poll. for EL PAÍS published this Monday, the leader of the PP surprises with messages that give oxygen to his opponents.

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