Support for SMEs and aid for landlords: Sánchez's measures to attract Junts

Barcelona / MadridPedro Sánchez is making moves to try and get the legislature back on track. With budgets on the verge of collapse and when The right wing is once again flirting with a motion of no confidenceTaking advantage of the alleged corruption cases plaguing the PSOE, the Spanish president has launched an operation to rebuild the broken relationship with Junts, a key partner for the survival of the Spanish government. "I acknowledge the breaches and delays that Junts has criticized, but I have always said that the hand is extended, that the will to negotiate is unequivocal, and that we are going to honor the agreements we signed," he said this morning in two interviews with RAC1 and RTVE, where he announced a package of measures with "some Puigdemonts included in the Brussels agreement." The Council of Ministers this Tuesday has already approved three of the announcements made earlier, although none of them address the main breaches cited by Junts. when they broke with the PSOE

The move has occurred without any prior negotiation with Junts to unblock these outstanding issues and responds to Sánchez's desire to "restart the dialogue" with the pro-independence party. "We have no idea if there's any water in the pool," admit sources at Moncloa Palace. Meanwhile, Junts sources consulted by this newspaper remain skeptical about Sánchez's ability to deliver, although they appreciate his finally acknowledging the "breaches," and have opted to "centralize" their response this Wednesday morning, with a day's notice, with their spokesperson in Congress, Miriam Nogueras, leading the charge. In any case, the distrust expressed so far remains, and Puigdemont's party doesn't see how things could change to bring the pending agreements to fruition. "At Junts, we believe in maintaining our position. Long-term strategies are better than last-minute sprints," warned Eduard Pujol, spokesperson in the Senate, during the question period in the Spanish government.

The measures unlocked

Both the Spanish president in the interview and ministers Pilar Alegría and Óscar López in the press conference following the cabinet meeting repeatedly emphasized that on Tuesday they fulfilled three demands from Junts, all included in a single royal decree-law. First, approval was given to enabling municipalities, other local entities, and autonomous communities to spend their 2024 surplus on "financially sustainable investments." "They will have greater capacity and ease to invest in projects that do not involve current expenditure, such as housing construction or water management," Sánchez explained. A second measure is to postpone by one year the deadline for SMEs and the self-employed... They must use the Verifactu invoice verification system.A demand that Sánchez has attributed to the Catalan employers' association.

The third measure was announced by López at Moncloa Palace and involves transferring to the Generalitat (Catalan government) the management of public employment offers and the selection processes for local civil servants with national certification, such as municipal secretaries, auditors, and treasurers. Sánchez also announced a fourth measure, a fund to help landlords "in the event of non-payment of rent to young people or vulnerable families," which will be approved next week. The Spanish president also asserted that the committee on the law regarding repeat offenses by members of the Catalan Parliament will meet in Congress this Thursday. The government considers the law "well advanced," and stated that the Spanish government is working on a consensus-based "methodology" to allow for the publication of fiscal balances, a long-standing demand of Catalan political parties. However, the blockade remains in place regarding the official status of Catalan in the European Union, the delegation of immigration powers, and the full implementation of the amnesty.

"Although [the Catalan separatists] have declared the talks broken off, the Spanish government and I in particular are very clear that we want to fulfill our commitments, because it is truly worthwhile," said the Socialist leader, who refuses to throw in the towel and even referred to the Brussels agreement. It is "a message for the second half of the legislature," say the same sources at Moncloa Palace. In this regard, Sánchez has made it clear that he is not giving up on the approval of the next budget and has reaffirmed that his objective is to serve out his term.

The meeting with Puigdemont: "We are not at that stage"

Despite attempts to reach out to Junts, Sánchez has once again ruled out an imminent call or meeting with the former president. He asserted that "the photograph and the meeting" with the Junts leader "will happen," but added that they are not "at that stage" at the moment. The Spanish president also acknowledged that there will be no "normalization" in Catalonia until Puigdemont can return to the country and "fully exercise his political rights." Conversely, Sánchez reaffirmed his commitment to a new financing system that recognizes Catalonia's "unique characteristics," a commitment also made to ERC, although he indicated that the tax collection that is to be delegated to the Generalitat has a degree of complexity that prevents its full implementation in the short term.

The opinion of the rest of the plurinational majority

"The Spanish government and Sánchez must honor all the commitments they negotiated," stated Ester Capella, spokesperson for ERC in the Catalan Parliament. From Madrid, however, Gabriel Rufián emphasized that Junts, according to the Republican spokesperson in Congress, "is breaking with the PSOE due to business and ideological interests," not because of "failures to deliver." "And neither laws nor empty promises will change that. That's Sánchez's mistake," he told X. Sumar, the junior partner in the Spanish government, considered the negotiating effort with Junts "positive," although they stressed that the results "must fit" into a "progressive social agenda." Podemos warned the PSOE of the risk of "buying into Junts's ultra-right-wing and racist agenda."

"We will not accept threats or blackmail"

Sánchez also responded to the attacks from the PP and Vox. "There has been no collusion, but rather a firm response," he said days later. José Luis Ábalos's imprisonmentRegarding the former minister's recent statements, in which he points the finger at the Socialists, he called them "lies" and added that he will not accept "neither threats nor blackmail." The leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, has accused Sánchez of being a "hypocrite" for having said that Ábalos, personally, was "a complete unknown" to him. The leader of the opposition stated that Sánchez "is not credible." "Everything he has denied has become a judicial truth," he asserted. Meanwhile, the PP has announced an offensive in the Senate and will summon Santos Cerdán's wife, known as Paqui, to the investigative committee on December 15, two days before the former number three of the PSOE appears.