Alberto Núñez Feijóo outlined his government program for nearly two hours, knowing that he will not be president. That’s why his speech was not limited to his offers in economic matters – lower taxes -, social – revaluation of pensions or increase of the SMI – or institutional – renewal of the CGPJ and change in the form of election of its members -, but it was also an interpellation to Pedro Sánchez about his intention to give in or not to the demands of the pro-independence parties to grant an amnesty for the process, and even to the request for a referendum self determination
Accompanied by 11 regional presidents of the PP and hailed by his deputies and citizens gathered at the gates of Congress, Feijóo began his speech by talking about the amnesty to make it clear that he does not have enough votes to be president because he refuses to give in to the that Sánchez, in his opinion, is willing to give to the pro-independence parties. “Amnesty is neither legally nor ethically acceptable”, assured the popular candidate, who in a confident tone referred to this measure as “a legal and moral aberration and an attack on the democratic values ??of the country” which, in addition , “questions the intervention of the King in 2017”. Feijóo not only made it clear that he rejects the amnesty, but introduced measures that he would promote if he were president, and that he will try to shape from the opposition, to “reinforce the instruments” of the State to fight against the attacks of the pro-independence . Thus, he proposed to include in the Penal Code the crime of “constitutional disloyalty”, as, he recalled, in many countries around us, and to recover the penalties for embezzlement that existed before the Sánchez Government lowered them by necessity of ERC to approve the latest budgets. He said nothing about bringing back the crime of sedition, because the crime of constitutional disloyalty would replace it.
But despite the fact that he demanded that Sánchez define himself on the amnesty, he did not get an answer. The acting president did not respond to Feijóo, nor even the socialist spokesman, Patxi López. It was done by the deputy for Valladolid Óscar Puente, a fact that was greeted with shouts of “coward, coward” by PP deputies, directed at the head of the Executive. Puente also did not mention the word amnesty, and Feijóo understood it, afterwards, because in the general policy debate in Parliament, he explained, the pro-independence parties had not only talked about amnesty, but had demanded a referendum on self-determination and “they said”, he affirmed, that “they will do it again”. His conclusion: “That’s why he came and didn’t dare to speak”.
Feijóo made a final appeal to Junts and the PNB. “I am a trustworthy president”, he told them, and warned them that Sánchez “will leave them in the lurch when he doesn’t need them”. He also asked them to reflect on what their alliances with the Socialist Government have meant to PNB and ERC in electoral terms. But he was firm. “They didn’t vote for me to give them amnesty and the right to self-determination”, but he asked them: “They voted for you to apply the economic policy of Podemos?”.
