Antoni Bassas' analysis: 'Sánchez, caught off guard on Puigdemont's return'

That same Tuesday, just minutes after Pedro Sánchez came out and admitted he hadn't honored the agreements with Junts, thus contradicting himself and siding with Junts, I told them that the implicit message of the Spanish president's words to Junts was that, now that Carles Puigdemont's return was so imminent, they shouldn't break off the process. That, now that the PSOE's commitment to amnesty was closer to becoming public knowledge, Junts had reason not to get everything moving again.

And so it was: Look at the topic on their front page today. The reason:

"Puigdemont's return will have to wait for a decision from the Constitutional Court." The article explains that, for the moment, the Constitutional Court is not considering granting a precautionary suspension of the arrest and imprisonment order currently in effect against Puigdemont, issued by the Supreme Court. The court's decision will not come before the end of the year but rather in January, and the draft resolution rejects the suspension requested by the defense of the president in exile.

Beyond a media outlet claiming to know what is said in a draft from the Constitutional Court, it is clear that part of the current Spanish political game hinges on Puigdemont's return: some to expedite it (PSOE), others to slow it down (PP). And given that the Supreme Court has the final say on this matter, the chances of it being stopped are greater than those of it being expedited, and everyone knows this, although it is true that the Court of Justice of the EU must rule on the amnesty and everything points to it being in favor.

Together, however, he has always said that fulfilling the agreements with the PSOE goes far beyond a photo of Sánchez with Puigdemont, even if it's with the president back in Catalonia. He wants what was agreed upon: official status for Catalan in Europe and the transfer of powers regarding immigration. That's why, Miriam Nogueras's response yesterday was that Junts does not have enoughBut he encourages Sánchez to fulfill all the agreements. So, as we discussed yesterday, the door remains closed but could reopen.

Underlying this, however, the PSOE-Junts relationship is very complicated because the investiture agreements were based on Junts making Sánchez president (despite having lost the elections) in exchange for the Socialist Party's recognition that there was a political conflict between Catalonia and Spain, and that they would discuss this in Switzerland with an international mediator. And those talks have also failed. Because finding a solution goes far beyond approving measures in a cabinet meeting.

Finally, what do the other players say? The same thing they said thirty years ago, in the 1990s, when Jordi Pujol's Convergència supported Felipe González's Socialist government and theABC the title was "González, genuflecting before PujolNow, even a socialist like García Page says, all hurt, that the PSOE is wrong to kneel before Puigdemont.

Good morning.