Without the pressure of having to close an agreement immediately so that Pedro Sánchez's investiture debate takes place this week and in an atmosphere of discretion, despite the protests of the right in the street and the action of the judges, Junts and PSOE have taken steps and have advanced in the search for an agreement in these last hours. The negotiation continues in Brussels and could reach the goal throughout the day today, Thursday, according to sources familiar with the negotiation.
The two forces continued yesterday to address the last aspects of the agreement and could announce the pact today, according to post-convergent sources. It seems that the third time is the charm, after two days marked in red on the calendar as D-day for the entente, two days in which the JxCat leadership had traveled to Belgium. However, sources from the PSOE, cautious after what happened this week, limited themselves to stating yesterday at the last minute that they were “continuing working”, although they admitted that they have been “very close” for a long time.
The teams of the socialists and the post-convergents arrived between Sunday and Monday in the community capital and have stayed there with the intention of settling the negotiation. On behalf of Junts are the general secretary, Jordi Turull; the leader of the party in Madrid, Míriam Nogueras, and the president of the party, Laura Borràs, who these days accompany former president Carles Puigdemont, the person who has led the conversations with the PSOE from the first moment. On Ferra's behalf, the secretary of organization and Sánchez's most trusted person, Santos Cerdán, with his deputy, Juan Francisco Serrano, remain in the Belgian capital. The truth is that both teams have stayed in Belgium longer than initially expected.
Although the president of the Congress of Deputies, Francina Armengol, had enabled all holidays and weekends until the end of the month, Sánchez's investiture debate is expected to be next week.
The spokesperson for the PSOE executive, the acting minister Pilar Alegría, assured yesterday that the acting president kept the closing of the congress of the European Social Democrats next Saturday on his agenda. Likewise, it is most likely that the details of the amnesty law will be presented next week, while it is registered in the Lower House for processing.
In any case, although the Socilistas secure the support of Junts today, they still have to convince the PNV, in a pre-campaign context for the Jeltzales.
In JxCat they stressed yesterday that it is very important that the text of the amnesty law is clear and does not leave any room for maneuver to the judiciary. The post-convergents argue that given the reaction that has been seen these days from the courts, which have stepped on the accelerator in some cases related to the independence movement, and taking into account that it is the judges who will have to apply the amnesty law and interpret the drafting of the norm, there cannot be any fissure in the articles that allows the criminal oblivion to remain without effect. “Let it not happen as happened with the law of only yes, yes,” they pointed out yesterday.
The reasons for the dissent in recent days had to do with the scope of the amnesty, since the post-convergents wanted to go beyond the causes directly related to the 9-N consultation and the 1-O referendum, and include cases that they understand as lawfare – use of justice for political purposes.
Be that as it may, once the flaws and obstacles are resolved, in the formation of Turull the management bodies and the militancy have to endorse the pact in a consultation.
