He Acting President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, began this Wednesday with the leader of Sumar, Yolanda Díaz, her round of contacts to seek support for his investiture and to be able to reissue a coalition Executive.
According to Sumar spokesperson, Nacho Álvarez, The Spanish socialists and the Sumar left “agreed” at the meeting on the possibility of granting an amnesty to the Catalan independentists, who demand it in exchange for their support to form a new executive.
The amnesty “is an issue that we have been dealing with and working on” and “that is not where we have discrepancies, we have discrepancies and work to do regarding labor and social proposals,” said Sumar’s spokesperson.
“We want a government that reduces the working day, raises salaries and addresses the housing problem,” wrote Yolanda Díaz on the social network X, where she said she wanted to “accelerate the negotiations of the government agreement.”
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If the next Coalition Government wants to be useful to citizens, it must have an ambitious program that continues to advance in terms of social and labor rights.
We are not satisfied with consolidating previous achievements, we must go further.pic.twitter.com/xV5HKNtRmX
— Nacho Álvarez (@nachoalvarez_) October 4, 2023
In power since 2018, On Tuesday, Pedro Sánchez received the order from the king to try to form a government, after the failure of the leader of the Popular Party (PP, right), Alberto Núñez Feijóo, who came first in the legislative elections of July 23, but without the necessary majority in Congress to be sworn in as president of the government.
To obtain the confidence of the deputies, Sánchez must have the support of Sumar, but also of the Catalan independentists, who demand in exchange a controversial amnesty for people with legal cases for the attempted secession of Catalonia in 2017.
Unlike Sumar, who has been openly in favor of amnesty to “turn the page” on the 2017 crisis, the worst in Spain in decades, Sánchez has avoided talking about the thorny issue in recent weeks, while preparing the ground for negotiations.
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Today I met with @sanchezcastejon to begin a new phase and accelerate the negotiations of the government agreement.
At Sumar we are not satisfied, we want a government that reduces working hours, raises salaries and addresses the housing problem. pic.twitter.com/ypx9YotwlH
— Yolanda Díaz (@Yolanda_Diaz_) October 4, 2023
At a press conference this Tuesday, Sánchez affirmed that it is time for “generosity”, “commitment”, “leadership” and “politics” to solve the “political problem” of Catalonia and to move forward with the investiture and assured that when he speaks with all the parliamentary groups he will “establish a position” on their demands.
“You cannot preside over the government of the nation without understanding the political plurality of Parliament or the territorial diversity of the nation. Therefore, it is the time for politics (…), it is the time for generosity,” said the socialist leader.
Sánchez also defended the “difficult” decision he made last year regarding the pardons of those convicted of the secessionist attempt in Catalonia in October 2017, because today he can confirm “that it was correct” and well taken in the interest of the general interest. .
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The possibility of an amnesty arouses the indignation of the Spanish right, but also generates discomfort in a part of the Socialist Party itself.
But what the acting head of the Spanish Executive did make clear was that there will not be a referendum. of self-determination in Catalonia.
We have given sufficient evidence of our capacity for dialogue and consensus
The socialist spokesperson, Pilar Alegría, stated that during the years in government, “we have given sufficient evidence of our capacity for dialogue and consensus,” which is why she promised that the government agreements “will be clear and transparent.”
(You can read: Sánchez starts his race for the investiture in Spain, despite not winning the elections)
In a first call, Sánchez needs an absolute majority (176 seats) and, if unsuccessful, within 48 hours there would be a second vote in which he would only need a simple majority.
If it fails, the Cortes would be dissolved and the general elections would be repeated on January 14 of next year.
INTERNATIONAL EDITORIAL
*With AFP and EFE
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