The Lehendakari, Iñigo Urkullu, has considered that the possible demand of Pedro Sánchez for a referendum, by Esquerra and Junts, as a condition to favor his investiture is due to “the struggle” between these two formations in the face of possible Catalan elections. The Basque leader has also defended the need to address an amnesty process, in order to place Catalonia in the scenario prior to October 1, 2017.
The investiture of Pedro Sánchez and the importance of the Catalan key in opening that path have focused part of Urkullu’s appearance at the New Economy Forum, where he explained the strategic lines that his Government has followed and has positively valued the socioeconomic evolution of Euskadi.
Looking at Catalonia, the Lehendakari has placed the demands of Junts and Esquerra in a pre-electoral context. “Perhaps what we are seeing, what we are witnessing, is the struggle between Junts and Esquerra using the Spanish Government in the face of what could be autonomous elections in Catalonia, and that Junts can surpass Esquerra in votes, which can assist the responsibility of configuring the Government in the Generalitat and that the Generalitat and the Parliament could once again adopt a unilateral path, which in my opinion should not have been,” he noted.
In any case, Urkullu has indicated that this reading is in the realm of speculation and has warned that “in relation to Junts and Esquerra, we will see many things between now and when the investiture session is held with Pedro Sánchez as a candidate.” . “Until the last minute we will be in a situation of uncertainty regarding what will result from the possible election of Pedro Sánchez as president,” he said.
On the other hand, Urkullu has defended the appropriateness of taking the amnesty route. “We continue to pay the consequences of the judicialization of an issue of a political nature. That should never have happened. A political issue should never have been judicialized. No one should have been prosecuted for this matter. I positively value agreeing on measures that, although it may seem unorthodox, contribute to reversing situations that were not correct. Situations for which there have already been pardons,” he noted.
The Lehendakari has also thrown a dart at Pedro Sánchez and has indicated that he was a “staunch” defender of applying article 155.
“In September 2017 I spoke with Pedro Sánchez as the leader of the opposition that he was at that time. So, I asked him to do what was necessary to avoid the nonsense of the application of 155. He did not do it. I remember him because sometimes we forget that he was one of the staunchest defenders of this measure. Pedro Sánchez promoted and defended the application of article 155. We have to know where we come from to talk now about the Amnesty Law,” he noted.
