Junts voters should read 'El Mundo'

BarcelonaThe Catalan and Spanish political and media ecosystems are so different that they often offer contrasting views of the same events. It's typical, for example, for conservative newspapers to portray the Catalan independence movement as excellent negotiators who have Pedro Sánchez practically acting as their butler. In Catalonia, however, things are seen somewhat differently, with more emphasis placed on Sánchez's failures to deliver and his ability to secure the support of Junts and ERC at difficult times, for example, during the investiture.

This Wednesday, the newspaper The World It puts a headline dreamed up by Carles Puigdemont's leadership on the front page: "Juntos launches to squeeze Sánchez with Catalan and immigration." Junts strategists would love for their voters to read it. The World and shared his approach, but that's not the reality. Unidad Editorial's newspaper uses this headline because it's interested in projecting an image of Sánchez kneeling before the separatists, which leads them to portray Carles Puigdemont, and sometimes Oriol Junqueras, as the Master of Puppets of Spanish politics.

The truth is that things are looking bleak on immigration for Junts due to Podemos's opposition to voting for the transfer of powers to Catalonia, and on language issues, it seems that the commitment that all Spanish companies with more than 250 employees must provide services in Catalan, regardless of their location, has already begun to deteriorate. But it's also true that without Junts and ERC, there would have been no amnesty, no changes to the Penal Code, no Catalan in Congress, no forgiveness of regional debt. As always, it all depends on your point of view and whether you want to see the glass half full or half empty.