The “judicial creativity” demonstrated by Judge Manuel García-Castellón and some of the Supreme Court prosecutors reaffirms Junts in its insistence on eliminating terrorism as an exception in the Amnesty law. Carles Puigdemont fills his comments on the proceedings of the National Court judge and writings of the 1-O prosecutors with adjectives: “compulsive liar”, “delirious”, “manipulation”, “corrupt plot”… Junts has gotten used to it to the judicial script twists and, like Pedro Sánchez, makes necessity a virtue in his negotiation with the socialists, who maintain their opposition to making new adjustments to the text of the law. “If the law is so robust, why does Minister Óscar Puente defend pardoning those who are left out?” reply the post-convergents.
The will to reach an agreement exists, but so does Junts’ option to vote no. The perimeter is not explored in search of sectoral counterparts to tie down the seven Junts deputies. The discussion is technical-legal, they say. Although there is a sense of fatigue with the “last minute” strategy – of the investiture and the omnibus decrees, until the validation on Thursday of Carmen Calvo as president of the Council of State –, Junts remember that the socialists have always ended up moving.
Will it be repeated again? The speech of the “pacification” of the Catalan conflict with the amnesty was Pedro Sánchez’s tool to stay in the Moncloa. And it is the power of Moncloa that plugged the wounds in the PSOE after the municipal and regional elections that the Galician elections have reopened. With Junts’ first no to the amnesty, Sánchez had to come out to defend the validity of the legislature, and the argument is reiterated after the setback in Galicia. The president has “all the time in the world”, but the dependence on Junts presses and suffocates?
The PP will march through all the communities with its “route for equality” while the PSOE shows wear and tear, not only due to the alliance with the independentists, but also due to the territorial weakness of the party that calls itself federal. The April 21 exam in the Basque Country will not act as a balm for the socialists, although they have the key to the government with the PNV. Even so, the momentum of the popular will be the Europeans. They will arrive at the meeting with the Amnesty bill being dissected by the absolute majority of the PP in the Senate. If Junts allows it. And Puigdemont as a candidate.
The exception regarding the crime of terrorism in the law is the recurring discussion since the negotiation between the PSOE and Puigdemont’s party began. For the socialists, it is the guarantee for the Constitutional Court chaired by Cándido Conde-Pumpido to endorse the rule, but the reactivation of the case against the leader of Junts for Tsunami and the Russian plot has thrown off the calculations and calendars.
In ERC they warn that every day that passes without an agreement the amnesty faces “a mine that can explode”: Tsunami, Koldo… They believe that the PSOE cannot move much more, but they can only wait and play their cards in The next hand: budgets. If the Government gives in to please Junts again, “we will know what the rules of the game are for everyone.” The price of ERC votes will rise.
The dialogue between the Republicans and Junts is fair, subject to the same distrust that they profess in the Parliament. The post-convergents have activated the parliamentary group to reinforce the profile of opposition to Pere Aragonès. In the absence of a candidate, the management is trying to present Junts as an alternative to ERC with its proposal to eliminate the inheritance tax or seeking to mark the Government’s step in managing the drought.
The secrecy imposed in the negotiation with the PSOE makes the task difficult. There is no possible story without public exposure. And the effects of the images are maximized. If ERC believes that the post-convergents are being left alone with their position in the amnesty negotiation, the meeting between Junts and PNV on Thursday in Montserrat sought to refute that argument. Did they pray for amnesty? “Let’s not distract Moreneta. Now she has to rain.”
