“Look at this hemicycle. Do you see any alternative to us? Do you see Albert Rivera? Inés Arrimadas? right what not? Don’t play it.” Gabriel Rufián’s warning to Pedro Sánchez yesterday surprised the PSOE. This was reflected by Nadia Calviño, Minister of Economy. Sitting next to the candidate for the presidency of the Spanish government, she showed a face of astonishment. In the second round, the ERC leader in Madrid lowered the tone and invited the general secretary of the Socialists to do “politics and negotiation”. Of course, Rufián made it clear that in this legislature the Republicans have “the ability to force him to end the repression today and to force him, perhaps, to vote in a referendum tomorrow”.
Esquerra will vote in favor of the investiture with the experience of having dealt with the PSOE and its Government with Unides Podemos. He has obtained some income at the dialogue table – pardons, reform of the Penal Code the clearest – but he is also dragging a series of unmaterialized agreements that have in part burdened Catalonia with its negotiating role. The Republicans do not want the same situation to be repeated and believe that, with Ciudadanos out of the chamber and with a single arithmetic for Sánchez to add majorities, they can achieve more results.
They will do it accompanied by Junts. Rufián has given the “welcome” to the group headed by Míriam Nogueras in Madrid, not without first criticizing them for turning ERC into “many people’s punching bag”. “The only truth is that ERC started playing a music that now many – especially in reference to JxCat – dance”, said the republican.
Here he left his reproaches to extend his hand to those of Jordi Turull and Laura Borràs: “Our commitment is that when the PSOE tries to deceive you, we will never, ever, say that it is your fault. We will say that the PSOE is to blame. And we will help them so it doesn’t happen.”
Some words that Sánchez did not take well, who asked Rufián to recognize the role of his Government to “overcome the social fracture” and advance social policies.
Esquerra has reached the investiture debate satisfied with the commitments made by Sánchez. The most important, from a political point of view, the amnesty, the authorship of which he has shared with Junts. The transfer of Rodalies is another folder. It will be managed by a new public company 50% owned by members of the Generalitat and the other 50% by the central government. Lines R1, R2 and R3 will be the first to be addressed. The republicans hope that, over the years, the rest of the roads that run through Catalonia will end up joining the shared ownership.
ERC also obtained the receipt of 15,000 million euros corresponding to the Autonomous Liquidity Fund (FLA). It represents 20% of the debt. It is the weakest aspect of the investiture agreement, since Catalonia would hardly have had the will to face it. Of course, the payment of 1,300 million in interest is avoided.
However, the negotiation for the investiture is already history. For the Republicans, now begins the stage of ensuring compliance in all respects.
Be that as it may, Rufián devoted a large part of his speech to inciting the right. The PP He accused him of encouraging the protests in front of the headquarters of the PSOE in Madrid and of trying to “make barbaric” a society that in reality, in his opinion, “what matters is food and that the right does not rule”.
