So far Pedro Sánchez, in common agreement with Salvador Illa, wanted to send a clear message to Junts i Esquerra last night in which he reaffirmed his rejection of a referendum on self-determination in Catalonia. A forceful message, in the context of ongoing negotiations to put the PSOE leader's investiture on track as president of the Spanish Government, which a socialist minister sums it up like this: "There is no free range".
On the eve of Alberto Núñez Feijóo's investiture failing today as planned and the process for the eventual re-election of Pedro Sánchez as head of the Executive beginning, the demands agreed yesterday between Junts and Esquerra in Parliament to support the leader of the PSOE – the amnesty for those accused of the process and above all, taking steps towards a referendum on self-determination – has made the socialists say enough.
The PSOE and the PSC issued a joint statement last night in which they reiterated their will to "bet on dialogue as the only way to guarantee progress and coexistence in Catalonia". "A dialogue that must be used to overcome the division and not to deepen the rupture and discord that generated so much tension in a sterile way in Catalonia and the rest of Spain", the statement says. "On this path, there is no possible progress", warn the socialists, who forcefully refuse to take any steps towards a referendum on self-determination in Catalonia.
"The path is one of coexistence and cohesion, understanding and the economic and social progress of Catalonia and the rest of Spain, always within the Constitution", alleges the socialist communique, which then highlights the 'bet "for a progressive government that continues the path of dialogue, agreements and harmony started four years ago". A bet endorsed by Catalan society in the last general elections, they allege, "and not to look at the worst past", he remarks.
The statement is expressed in terms very similar to the resolution presented by the Catalan Socialists to Parliament, which deals with the "dialogue in favor of coexistence", the only one that the PSC deputies will vote in favor of in today's plenary session .
The formation of Salvador Illa decided yesterday morning, before knowing the content of the pro-independence text on self-determination, that they would vote against all resolutions referring to amnesty. The reason, "we remain faithful to the principles of prudence, patience and discretion", they justified, but also out of respect for the liturgy - when the resolutions are voted on, the investiture process of Feijóo will still be underway, and because "they are taking many things for granted, and not", they explained with regret. The subsequent statement evidences this feeling.
The road to Sánchez's investiture thus suffers the first major setback, despite the fact that Sánchez himself, in the morning, had encouraged a quick process and guaranteed his re-election as President of the Central Government. Spain, he said without a hint of doubt, "is ready to repeat a progressive coalition government shortly".
In any case, without committing to deadlines, nor revealing anything about the content or scope of the agreements he can seal to obtain the endorsement of the parliamentary majority, and singularly of Catalan independence, Sánchez wanted to feed the idea of a investiture without further delay.
The social majority in Spain, in the general elections of July 23, closed the doors to the "reactionary wave" that is sweeping Europe, from north to south, as Sánchez warned. And he celebrated that the parliamentary majority resulting from these elections will close the doors today, in the second vote that will take place at noon in Congress, at the investiture of Feijóo.
And he justified that this is "the mandate of the social majority that manifested itself and expressed itself freely at the polls" on 23-J. "From a social majority that chose to move forward and not retreat, that said yes to progress and coexistence, and that he said a resounding no to the derogatory proposal of a right handed over to the reactionary theses of the ultra-right", he argued.
The leader of the PSOE congratulated himself that Spain stopped the "reactionary wave" that is sweeping Europe on the 23rd, and drew Feijóo at the mercy of Vox, "accomplice" of Abascal after "clawing and assuming the postulates of the ultra-right ".
