The non-aggression pact between ERC and Junts

BarcelonaLet's not fool ourselves. ERC and Junts continue their war, coordination is nonexistent, and mutual distrust is astronomical. But it's also true that the devilish parliamentary arithmetic in Madrid means that anything either party agrees to with the PSOE requires the votes of the other to be approved. In other words, both have the power to veto each other to derail any agreements reached. But this isn't happening. Whether because there's an unwritten agreement not to boycott each other, or because the political logic of the dentist joke is applying, the truth is that neither Junts has threatened to overturn the agreement on the FLA waiver reached by ERC, nor have the Republicans tweeted about the agreement to transfer immigration powers.

Parliamentary arithmetic and the need for both parties to be able to boast their negotiating achievements to their respective parishes have led to an unprecedented scenario of forced collaboration. What was impossible during the Process now works, albeit informally, in Madrid.

The amnesty negotiation was already a first taste of this collaboration. There, both reached the conclusion that if they coordinated their positions, they had a greater chance of making the PSOE give in. And it worked. Now we'll have to see what happens, for example, with the new financing system, which, while a flagship of ERC Junts, also incorporates it into its pact for Pedro Sánchez's investiture. In this case, the negotiation is extremely complex because many actors are involved, starting with the Minister of Economy, Alícia Romero. This will be the true touchstone of the legislature. Oriol Junqueras threatened this week from the ARA newspaper Without an agreement, they can forget about budgets in Barcelona and Madrid.

And even if there's an agreement on financing, Junts will also need a pledge, either with an element of the new system itself (taking the cost of living into account?) or something related to budget execution. As was the case with the amnesty, a certain degree of coordination between the two would optimize the results of the negotiations. But in politics, sometimes things turn out well, even if it's by chance.