The first official meeting between Pedro Sánchez and Yolanda Díaz to re-edit the coalition government has been “productive”, as explained at the end of the meeting by Nacho Álvarez, Acting Secretary of State for Social Rights and leader of the negotiating team of Summar, because it has served for the two formations to decide to speed up the meetings. But he has also made it clear that the discrepancies in matters of social rights, employment, housing and taxation continue to be “core”, in the words of Álvarez, who calls for an “ambitious” legislature in the PSOE.
Specifically, Álvarez emphasized that there are substantial discrepancies in matters such as the reduction of working hours, the new labor statute, the regulation of dismissal, housing and price control, or tax reform. In the differences that the two organizations maintain in these areas, he emphasized that, despite the fact that the talks between the PSOE and Sumar began at the beginning of August, “barely anything has progressed”.
Álvarez insisted that the program for the coalition government must be “ambitious” and that the result cannot be an executive that functions “at idle”, that administers the progress achieved in the previous legislature, but must face a agenda of transformations that expand the rights of social majorities, since this is the mandate that gave the electoral result of 23- J. For Sumar, after the experience of four years of coalition, it is substantial that the agreement of government reflects “black on white” what are the objectives of the executive. In any case, Álvarez indicated that Sumar does not envisage any other scenario than the agreement and the two formations have set themselves the goal of having the pact ready before the end of October.
The Secretary of State indicated that in the negotiation there are no red lines, but there is the duty that the government program responds to the expectations of the voter. “It cannot be a government that administers what has been done these four years, but must deepen the transformations”.
Regarding the amnesty negotiation with the Catalan independence forces, Álvarez said that Sumar and PSOE have no disagreement on this point and that the position of the two formations is common.
Sumar, in any case, continues without advancing details of the composition of the future government. Álvarez insisted that it will be in the final phases of the negotiation, when at least the main lines of the government program are clear, when it will be necessary to start designing the structure of the executive, the number of ministerial portfolios and who will have the ownership of the ministries The Secretary of State insisted that nothing of this has been discussed at the negotiation table and neither in yesterday’s meeting between Pedro Sánchez and Yolanda Díaz.
