Antoni Bassas' analysis: 'And the week ends with Junts securing the votes of the PSOE and the PP'

Pedro Sánchez's week of penance has ended with an unexpected move. Junts had long insisted on increasing the penalties for repeat offenders. Well, the PSOE announced yesterday that it will unblock the drafting of the law, which had been shelved for a year. And the best thing now is:

Not only would the PSOE support the law defended by JuntsBut the PP would also vote in favor. And Vox, and the PNV. All those parties approved the committee's report yesterday. The law would have a majority. The left wing of the PSOE, which would be the reason for Sánchez's hesitation with the law, would be outflanked.

Two interpretations. First, the technical one: Junts' proposal suggests punishing the theft of mobile phones, tablets, or laptops with one to three years in prison. And in the case of petty thefts—amounts under 400 euros—currently punished only with a fine, more than three offenses would also be punished with imprisonment. Junts thus proposes eliminating the current requirement that the accumulated value of the offenses must exceed 400 euros. Experts, like the police, say that harsher penalties don't directly solve the problem of "they go in one door and out the other." It's the same in the United States: the death penalty doesn't stop people from committing crimes that could lead to the electric chair or the gas chamber. In this sense, they believe that an appropriate measure against those who make a living by snatching mobile phones would be to issue a restraining order, preventing them from entering the neighborhood or streets where they usually commit thefts.

And then there's the political dimension of the issue. I say this in the words of our editorial today."In the case of the law against repeat offenders, the Junts party has managed to square the circle, that is, to incorporate changes proposed by the PSOE and the PP without either of them backing out of the agreement. It is also clear that Junts's intention is not to bring down the Sánchez government, but to gain maximum influence. And, from that point, from point 1, from point changes."

We can read it in two ways: for a year, Pedro Sánchez has been playing a balancing act: engaging in dialogue with Junts in Switzerland and passing the amnesty, but, for everything else, keeping Sumar, his coalition partner, happy. And more bluntly: Sánchez is not only responsible for breaches of agreements, but he was also very stubborn because he didn't do what has now been shown to be possible. Of course, the transfer of immigration or Catalan to Europe are not as easy for him as the issue of repeat offenders.

Good morning.