Pedro Sanchez vows government to end rift in Catalonia

Spain’s Socialist Party leader Pedro Sanchez said this Monday that he will reach a new agreement on his reappointment as prime minister, with the next legislature putting “definitely behind” the 2017 rift in Catalonia.

On this Monday, Sánchez expressed his “full confidence” that an agreement with other parties, including supporters of the independence of Catalonia and the Basque Country, on his new assumption of the office of prime minister “can, should and will be reached” after the legislative elections held on July 23 . .

Speaking of the priorities of the next legislature, the leader of the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE) at a conference in Madrid promised the consistency of what he has done in recent years at the head of government, which is already possible. in parliament from the nationalist and independence forces.

In the latest legislature, the government led by Sánchez pardoned the Catalan leaders convicted of Catalonia’s attempt at independence in 2017 and amended the Penal Code to eliminate the offense of sedition, leading to the arrest of nine independence supporters, with the rest yet to be be subject to punishment. had tried.

Sanchez said this Monday that the decisions of the last legislature were “bold, risky and in some cases misunderstood by the public.”

“But they were taken with a noble goal that the country needs to move forward in resolving the serious rift that we inherited in Catalonia,” he added, stressing that these were completely constitutional measures and that they worked because in the region this Monday.” infinitely better” than in 2017.

“A commitment to dialogue and agreement is the best solution to this crisis. (…) Therefore, the time has come for us to be consistent and continue to move forward in achieving this goal of coexistence. The next legislature should be one that finally puts behind the rift we experienced in 2017. And if these recent years have marked the beginning of a phase of reunification and harmony, the next years will be those that consolidate territorial cohesion and guarantee coexistence in a democracy,” he said.

Sánchez did not elaborate on talks with other parties or specifically mention the demands of the Catalan independence forces, which have placed the possibility of an amnesty for those involved in the 2017 independence attempt at the center of public debate.

On the other hand, the PSOE leader said he did not know when his re-ascension to the position of prime minister in parliament would be possible, acknowledging that the negotiations were a “difficult and responsible task” but reiterating that Spain would “soon” do so. have a new progressive government” that will bring “prosperity, stability and coexistence” and that embraces “territorial diversity as well as linguistic and cultural pluralism with pride and as part of the country’s strength”.

Sánchez also denounced the “useless waiting time” that Spain is going through until September 26, the date of the debate and vote on the assumption of the Prime Ministership of People’s Party (PP, right) leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo, who said the right to be a candidate for office , because he topped the list with the most votes in the elections, although he does not have the necessary support in the Congress of Deputies.

The PP received the largest number of votes in the July 23 elections, and the King of Spain nominated Feijoo as a candidate for prime minister, whose appointment now must be voted on by parliament.

The PSOE has ensured that, despite being the second most voted party, it is able to form a government again using the votes of deputies from the “cunning device” of the left, far left, regionalist, nationalist and independent forces. , which has already managed to join the elections of the President of the Parliament on August 17.