The day after winning the general elections with resoundingly clear results in Catalonia, the PSC chose to flee from triumphalism and paved the way for a dialogue with the pro-independence political forces that would allow the investiture of Pedro Sánchez. They do so by making clear the red lines that they are not willing to accept but aware that the weight of the seven Junts deputies to assemble the necessary majority in the Congress of Deputies will condition the negotiations, either to obtain their vote in favor or an abstention.

“The results are clear, the numbers support it, I appeal to all of us to rise to the occasion,” said the PSC’s first secretary, Salvador Illa, yesterday in a clear message to the party of Carles Puigdemont, to whom the Socialists asked for “realism” and they already make it clear that neither amnesty nor the self-determination referendum will be on the table when they are ready to negotiate. These are the two conditions that the independence party had set and that do not fit with a fundamental premise for Illa: “The cornerstone of democracy is respect for the rule of law.”

For the first secretary of the PSC, the European context of growth of the extreme right makes the current historical moment a turning point and, given this international scenario, in Spain “it is time to bet on dialogue and collaboration, not on division”. However, the leadership of the Catalan socialists has not yet exchanged any message with the representatives of Junts. They didn’t do it on election night or yesterday. The start of the talks is left in the hands of the parliamentary group in the framework of negotiations in which they must seek the support of the different nationalist forces for the PSOE and Sumar coalition. Before, it will be the former deputy of En Comú Podem, Jaume Asens, who will start talks with the pro-independence parties.

The celebration of the executive commission yesterday at the PSC headquarters in Pallars street began with applause in recognition of the good results obtained both by the list headed by Meritxell Batet in Barcelona and in the other three Catalan provinces, where it has also been the force with the most votes. In total, 19 deputies and an absolute plenary session with the 12 senators that were chosen in Catalonia. Behind the scenes, the Socialists celebrated having widely exceeded one million votes and having recovered the title of the most voted party, something they had not seen since 2008 with Carme Chacón. Out of doors, they opted for a more contained stance. The head of the opposition in Catalonia understands that the polls make it clear that voters from all over the country have voted “for a plural and diverse Spain that must be articulated in a government formula that represents that plurality” led by Pedro Sánchez.

Illa also wanted to make it clear that in future negotiations to revalidate the PSOE in La Moncloa, agreements in other administrations will not come into play. Even less a possible exchange of support that would mean handing Junts the mayoralty of Barcelona achieved just a month ago by the Socialists thanks to the support of the commons and the PP. “The notebooks should not be mixed,” Illa settled before the option of negotiating some type of agreement that would incorporate the post-convergents in the municipal government or even hand over the mayor’s office to Xavier Trias. In Junts some voices dreamed of putting on the table the demand to share the mayoralty for two years for Trias and two for Collboni in exchange for facilitating the investiture of Sánchez.

The mayor himself reinforced that same idea in an appearance at the City Hall and made it clear that “Barcelona will never be a bargaining chip.” Collboni remarked that “it has not been and will not be in the future” and highlighted the good results in the Catalan capital both of his own party and of Sumar to “favor a progressive government.” Precisely this same line of argument is the one that stood out at the local level both in the municipal campaign and in the subsequent negotiations that ended up leading him to the mayoralty with only ten councilors, waiting for the municipal government to gain muscle in the coming months.