Once the Congressional Justice Commission was convened yesterday for this Thursday, which will vote on a new opinion on the Amnesty law proposal, the PSOE leadership expresses “full conviction” in the agreement with Junts per Catalunya to finally unblock the rule. This time yes, because they assure that “there is will” of all parties for the pact.
The impression is similar in ERC. They admit that positions are getting closer and they see the end of the mess. Junts remains silent, but the echo of Carles Puigdemont’s words from Saturday is enough, urging them to stop allocating efforts to the fight against “repression” and focus them on independence.
The PSOE spokesperson, Esther Peña, reaffirmed for her part the “absolute confidence that the law will go forward this Thursday morning in the Justice commission.” “We are convinced that it will be a good law for Spain and for Catalonia, and that it will finally help us turn the page on one of the most difficult stages of coexistence in our country,” she said.
Peña insisted that the PSOE still does not contemplate major changes in the wording of the norm, which a month ago nevertheless caused the negative vote of Junts in the plenary session of Congress, in response to the accusation of an alleged crime of terrorism against Carles Puigdemont . “We do not plan to make any modifications,” he stressed.
Socialist sources point out that, although there is some change in the final wording, “the philosophy is the same.” ERC also hinted that the changes will be minimal: “The margin is small,” said its spokesperson, Raquel Sans.
In any case, if the Justice Commission already approves the new opinion, as expected, the intention is that the law can be voted on in the plenary session of Congress on Thursday of next week, and from there it will go to the Senate, where the PP plans delay processing for another two months.
The PSOE spokesperson assured that this “reconciliation law”, as she called it, can now achieve the final approval of Junts. In her opinion, her vote against the norm, a month ago, “opened a period of reflection” in Puigdemont’s formation that would now put the agreement on track. At ERC they also breathe optimism. They claim that they hold two-way meetings; with the PSOE, on the one hand, and with Junts on the other. However, they remember that the pact is not for two (PSOE-JxCat), but for three, so they reserve more than just the last word, republican sources emphasize.
In Ferraz they trust that, once the amnesty is unlocked, the Government will recover the legislative initiative with the new general budgets of the State. Socialist sources point out that negotiations with Junts are also open, and that María Jesús Montero is already “working hard” to achieve the agreement, despite the PP’s veto of the stability objective in the Senate.
