A new political framework came into play yesterday in the eventual path of Pedro Sánchez to Moncloa. Former president Carles Puigdemont and the leader of the PNB, Andoni Ortuzar, met for two and a half hours in Waterloo, a meeting that broke the distance between the two formations during the process, but which above all is focused - each with their demands – towards the investiture of the PSOE candidate. Junts' seven seats and PNB's five are essential, and yesterday they offered new signals from Belgium.
Jordi Turull, secretary general of Junts, and Joseba Aurrekoetxea, head of organization of the PNB, key figures in the negotiations, also attended the meeting, which was conducted with the utmost discretion. Although each formation has its own demands and agendas, the joint photo – there had been no PNB visit to Waterloo – and the official communiqués convey an image of coordination. And, obviously, a message at a key moment. With ten days to go before the debate that Alberto Núñez Feijóo will face, the goal is dialogue with the PSOE. The PNB has already underlined its rejection of a pact with the PP, even if the meeting between the spokespersons Cuca Gamarra and Aitor Esteban is scheduled for this Monday.
From JxCat it is considered that the negotiation in the strict sense will open when the debate with Feijóo is over, but stable communication is maintained, an open telephone, between Puigdemont, Turull, Miriam Nogueras and the Presidency team with Minister Félix Bolaños at the head The confidence after the negotiation for the Congress table remains.
Together, to measure the temperature of the PSOE's willingness to "comply" with the commitments requested, what will happen this Tuesday in the Council of the EU that will address the officiality of Catalan, Basque and Galician Faced with the reluctance expressed by Sweden and Finland, the board members understand that the Spanish Government must thoroughly move diplomacy. The approval of an amnesty law as a precondition remains, and has been repeated. And it is considered that there are enough tools – for example, the read-only procedure – to do this.
Despite the discretion in the negotiations, JxCat is also aware that an eventual repeat election is a scenario that could go against him. Although the latest polls indicate that he could add one more seat, the possibility of being decisive is another matter.
Yesterday's meeting in Waterloo with the PNB, like the one held with Vice President Yolanda Díaz, change the image that has been projected of Puigdemont.
The PNB, for its part, is proactive in favoring the re-issue of the coalition Government and sees Junts as a possible ally in favor of the political approach outlined by Sabin Etxea. The Jeltzales believe that the investiture negotiation can open a window of opportunity to put the territorial issue on track, addressing it from a perspective that includes both what they call the "Basque agenda" and the demands that may come from Catalonia
The people of Ortuzar want to be protagonists in this scenario. After the last two electoral setbacks, the PNB needs to regain prominence, take the initiative and try to reconcile with a part of its voters, who see the party as a bit blurred. EH Bildu steps on their heels, and the bet happens to be more PNB than ever, recovering the national agenda, spinning thin in the social plan and regaining a relevant role in Madrid, a role in which it now rivals the Abertzale coalition.
The Jeltzales have a goal and plan a way to achieve it. It is a reformulation of the State in a plurinational key through a constitutional convention, a formula that would allow the Constitution to be reinterpreted without necessarily reforming it. They have in mind the road map necessary to pave this way and see their former allies in the post-convergent space as a possible travel companion. Yesterday's meeting between the PNB and Junts staged the reunion between old friends, enemies as a result of the process, whose paths could converge again.
