Before the general elections on July 23, Pedro Sánchez categorically rejected the Junts maximum program, which calls for amnesty for all those accused of the process and a self-determination referendum in Catalonia. And, after the appointment with the polls on Sunday, the President of the Government, already in office, continues without contemplating both demands, despite the fact that the formation of Carles Puigdemont may be decisive for the leader of the PSOE to once again opt for the investiture as head of the Executive.
This was highlighted on Tuesday by the government spokesperson, the socialist Isabel Rodríguez, after the last meeting of the Council of Ministers before the summer vacation break. "If something has been demonstrated in these years of the government of President Pedro Sánchez, it is that in Catalonia, as in Spain as a whole, only the constitutional framework fits", she assured. Neither amnesty and self-determination, insist the PSOE, fit in the Constitution.
The Socialists also ensure that these are screens of the past, and are committed to looking to the future to turn the page on the process of 2017. "According to the expression of the Catalan citizens, it seems clear that they have liked that too", stressed the Government spokesperson. He thus referred to the electoral triumph of Salvador Illa's PSC last Sunday at the polls, which obtained more votes and seats in Congress than all the pro-independence formations combined. In the PSOE they summon Junts to reflect on the result of the elections.
The spokesperson for the Executive has indicated that Sánchez called the elections on 23-J to "clarify" the course that Spain should follow. And, in her opinion, the citizens clearly marked this course, by blocking the way for a government of the Popular Party with the extreme right of Vox. "Spain has clearly marked the course of progress and the rejection of setbacks", highlighted Isabel Rodríguez. And she has shown her confidence that, from now on, they will know how to manage that message from Spanish society.
"The destiny of Spain depends on continuing to move forward, as it has been expressed at the polls, and now we have to manage that flow of confidence of the Spanish citizenry", highlighted the government spokesperson. What the polls have also confirmed, she added, is that Spain is "diverse and plural." And she has appealed to the "responsibility" of all the deputies and senators that emerged from the elections to face "a legislature that I hope will be, as a result of events, much calmer than this legislature."
Isabel Rodríguez has thus trusted that a fruitful legislature can be opened after an investiture that is still uncertain. In the Moncloa they warn that Alberto Núñez Feijóo does not have sufficient support for his investiture. And they emphasize that Pedro Sánchez has already more than demonstrated his "ability to give stability to Spain". This legislature, they settle, went on like this again for four years, and chained three consecutive general state budgets, approved in due time and form.
