Feijóo's strange dependence on Puigdemont

MadridFrom expressing a willingness to dialogue to full-throttle fanfare in just a matter of hours. This is how the PP's discourse on the Spanish government's decree to mitigate the effects of Donald Trump's tariffs on the state's business community has evolved. What happened in between? The announcement by Junts of an agreement with Pedro Sánchez's administration that guarantees the support of Carles Puigdemont's party for the law when it passes through Congress. While government sources emphasize that all parliamentary groups had access to the text approved this Tuesday at the Council of Ministers with the content agreed upon with the regional government, the public account given by Junts has prompted Alberto Núñez Feijóo to raise his tone. The PP leader denounced this Wednesday that he was unaware of the "covert negotiation with the separatists" to impose an "arbitrary territorial criterion." "Today we are further away from a possible agreement than yesterday," he emphasized.

This is not the first time that this strange dependence of the PP on Junts has been revealed. It often serves as an escape route for the PP when they are immersed in negotiations with the Spanish government. Even in the only state agreement that has been registered so far this term, the renewal of the General Council of the Judiciary, the PP threatened to overthrow it due to the contacts the PSOE had with Junts to push through the amnesty law. On the contrary, when the issue is blocking initiatives, Feijóo has no problem adding his votes to those of the judiciary, as he did recently for overturn the creation of the State Public Health Agency.

From Brussels, Feijóo avoided blame on Wednesday and blamed Sánchez's administration for the less-than-smooth relationship with the main opposition party. He did so by presenting himself as a statesman alongside the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. "[Sánchez] is worried about maintaining his precarious situation and not solving the problems of Spanish companies," he said regarding the decree on aid due to tariffs.

"The government has decided to expel the PP from the negotiating framework to respond to the tariff crisis after unilaterally agreeing with the independence movement," PP sources reacted on Tuesday night after MP Josep Maria Cruset stated that Juntos had obtained a guarantee that 25% would go to Catalonia. Spanish government sources clarified that no specific percentage was reserved for Catalan companies, but rather the decree stated that "the instruments will be available to companies in a balanced manner across territories based on their exposure to the shock." In other words, the decree assumes that more aid will go to the most affected territories, without setting a mandatory percentage for Catalonia.

"There will be funding for all companies that require it," reassures the Spanish government, which rejects any talk of discrimination or harm to the other autonomous regions. In fact, the Valencian Community and Andalusia, two exporting regions, will also likely be overrepresented. Both, incidentally, are governed by the People's Party (PP). The Spanish government accuses Feijóo of making an "excuse." What is his motive? Government sources attribute this gesture by the Popular Party to the electoral competition with Vox, which is taking advantage of any rapprochement to weaken Feijóo—and even more so if Junts is involved.

The situation is similar to that of the decree for the distribution of immigrant minors—an issue that will be voted on this Thursday in Congress and which particularly strains the PP's relationship with the far right—agreed between the Spanish government and Junts. The PP opposes it, arguing inequality and that it is designed with political criteria to please Puigdemont's party.

Willingness to negotiate with tariffs

There is a difference in the case of tariffs: it seemed that, despite the criticism, the PP was interested in facilitating the approval of the decree due to its impact on Spanish business and to distance itself from Vox's controversial stance toward Donald Trump. Feijóo met on Monday with the most affected sectors and sent a series of proposals to the Minister of Economy, Carlos Cuerpo, who demands that they be incorporated into the text. The PP is also under pressure from employers, who are demanding that the parties "leave politics aside" and reach "agreements" despite the "interference" of Junts, according to CEOE president Antonio Garamendi on RNE this Wednesday. The PP's deputy economic secretary, Juan Bravo, expressed this desire for an agreement during Cuerpo's appearance in Congress this Wednesday.

Bravo stated that the PP has its "hand extended," but warned that they will "abandon the negotiation" if "they start being cheated." "Who is right, the separatists or you?" asked the Popular Party member regarding the differences between the versions of Junts and the Spanish government regarding the scope of their agreement. In an informal conversation with journalists after the appearance, Bravo complained that the Minister of Economy had not responded to him and that he had lied to him, introducing modifications to the text that was finally published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) to bolster Junts' narrative, which he claims the Spanish Nationalist Body has not publicly refuted. "It's all smoke and mirrors," said Republican spokesperson Gabriel Rufián regarding Junts' announcement, predicting that there will be an agreement between the PP and PSOE, as well as with the General Council of the Judiciary.