A photo taken in Brussels of Miriam Nogueras, spokesperson for the Junts in Congress, Carles Puigdemont and Jordi Turull.Delmi à lvarez
The Junts per Catalunya's recent maneuvers in Parliament to promote a popular legislative initiative aiming at Catalonia's independence have put renewed focus on the peculiarities of the negotiating tactics of the party led by Carles Puigdemont. While a debate is underway with the PSOE in the House of Representatives about an agreement on the amnesty law, the post-convergent formation in the autonomous parliament is in favor of a plan that represents a return to the starting point of the separatist challenge.
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Junts and the PSOE signed a commitment to bring “stability” to the legislature three months ago, but both partners remain in tune with the times. Jordi Turull, Secretary General of JxCat, reiterates that the priority is to “maintain the position”. Privately, Independence Party officials point out that “Junts and the PSOE start from a considerable distance and it is normal that it is difficult to reach a meeting point.” Although the alternative is to leave PP and Vox free, hesitated Junts does not want to delay an agreement with the PSOE on the congressional board or the inauguration of Pedro Sánchez. In addition, the party invented a parliamentary trick to avoid explicitly supporting the government in passing the economic decrees. And the amnesty law does not represent a ceasefire in the negotiated conflict.
Meanwhile, in Catalonia, Esquerra has decided to focus his efforts on reaching an agreement with the PSC to approve budgets and relegate Junts.
The moderator
The President of the Parliament, Anna Erra, was the moderator for the successful processing of a popular initiative to pass a law declaring Catalonia's independence. Erra has a reputation for being a cautious and moderate personality within the Junts. “It’s not a decision by the president, it’s a party decision.” And it’s consistent because Junts has always been of the opinion that you can talk about anything in parliament,” says the formation.
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The process of reviving faith in independence “is an illusory, untimely approach that does not come from a representative force,” says one of the parliamentary advisers who channeled the proposal, but it reinforces the theory that junts are unpredictable at the negotiating table is dinner. After 23-J, Puigdemont sold the idea that a government led by the PSOE did not matter to him or anyone else where PP and Vox were. Junts hung by a thread until the last moment, when the socialist Francina Armengol was appointed president of the congressional committee. Then, during Pedro Sánchez's investiture debate, Miriam Nogueras issued a warning to the PSOE candidate just before the vote: “Don't tempt fate with us.”
The push for new parliamentary ingenuity around independence has fueled speculation in the final stretch of the amnesty negotiations, putting the level of trust between JxCat and the Socialists under test. “The ILP (People's Legislative Initiative) should have no influence on the amnesty negotiations, there is no intention to compromise the PSOE,” reports a Junts source close to the leadership. “The dialogue is constant and flowing,” says the same person. “The relationship between Junts and the PSOE will always be tense, but it is a relationship between two partners who can understand each other,” suggests another Junts position with direct reference to the leadership.
The agreement between Junts and the PSOE involves the drafting of an amnesty law that meets the expectations expressed by Puigdemont and his lawyer Gonzalo Boye and does not compromise the constitutionality of the articles. “Pedro Sánchez is interested in approving the budgets, but for Junts the amnesty is the most important law of the legislature,” explains the party. Regarding the difficulty of making public statements if the amnesty ultimately fails, it is argued that it is more difficult to advocate for an amnesty that does not provide judicial benefits to the defendants. “To claim that all those affected by the tsunami case comply with the law is not a humiliation of the PSOE,” defends the party.
On November 9, the PSOE and Junts published, via Catalunya, a four-page document that purported to be an agreement between both parties to promote “legislative stability.” Two and a half years earlier, in May 2021, Junts had signed another government commitment, in this case with Esquerra, to “ensure stability throughout the legislative period” in the Generalitat. Junts eventually left the government midway through his term.
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