Together gives Pedro Sánchez leeway: "We are responsible people. We will not take rash measures."

Madrid / BarcelonaImmersed in the deepest crisis over the Cerdán case since his term began, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has broken a taboo. This Tuesday, he received a former political prisoner from the Partido Popular (Junts) process, Jordi Turull, Secretary General of Junts, at the Moncloa Palace for the first time, as part of the round of contacts with the partners to address the viability of the legislature. At 11:30 p.m., they held a meeting at the Spanish government headquarters with both Turull and the spokesperson in the Congress of Deputies, Míriam Nogueras. In fact, this is the photo the Junts had requested from Sánchez to analyze whether or not they can continue with his mandate: last Thursday, following the devastating report by the UCO (Union of the Workers' Union) on the alleged illegal commissions of Santos Cerdán, José Luis Ábalos, and Koldo García, Junts requested a meeting directly with the Spanish Prime Minister to discuss the matter.

The meeting served to confirm that Sánchez has the "willingness to continue the Brussels agreement" despite the forced resignation of the former number three of the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) leaving the regional government without an interlocutor. As Turull explained in a subsequent media address, they demanded guarantees from Sánchez that this agreement would be complied with. "He has asked us for a few days to specify the people who will form part of the delegation," said the secretary general of the regional government, who agreed to grant him that timeframe. "We are responsible people. We will not take hasty measures; we will do so with Catalonia in mind," he asserted.

This meeting is precisely what Junts had demanded. Following a summit of his party's permanent representatives, he demanded in a statement: "Given the seriousness of the information released and in light of the appearance of the PSOE general secretary and president of the Spanish government, in which he announced his intention to complete his term, Junts per Catalunya requests an urgent meeting with the general secretary, Jordi Turull, and the spokesperson for the government, and to make decisions accordingly." More meetings are expected to follow. "There must be more," Turull said.

Junts sources consulted by ARA positively assess the fact that Sánchez has agreed to do what they asked him to do, which involved a meeting with the former political prisoner and party general secretary and his leader in the Congress of Deputies. This is the first time Sánchez has met with a leader of the 2017 government, after being pardoned by his government and still awaiting amnesty. In fact, one of the photo ops planned since the beginning of the PSOE-Sumar government's term is the meeting between Sánchez and former president Carles Puigdemont, which remains to be seen whether it will actually take place after the outbreak of the new corruption case affecting Sánchez's entourage. Likewise, the meeting between Sánchez and the president of Esquerra (Republican Left), Oriol Junqueras, is also pending. Puigdemont, since the beginning of the term, has been calling for a "political amnesty" beyond the judicial one, which implies the symbolic recognition of the 2017 leaders through dialogue. ~

The only person Puigdemont did meet with at the beginning of his term was Vice President Yolanda Díaz, specifically at the start of the investiture negotiations; while Oriol Junqueras was photographed with Félix Bolaños, then Minister of the Presidency, during Pedro's investiture.

Seize the moment

With the fall of Santos Cerdán, Junts is Sánchez's partner most affected, as it is left without an interlocutor. The former number three of the PSOE was the one who steered the relationship with the regional government officials, especially through Jordi Turull, with whom he forged a good relationship. In fact, the Junts general secretary was the only one who initially defended his presumption of innocence. Cerdán also traveled to Switzerland monthly to meet with former president Carles Puigdemont, Turull, and Nogueras, in the presence of the international mediator. These meetings also included former Spanish president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. This interlocution is one of the issues that Junts and PSOE must now reconsider, as the regional government officials demand compliance with the outstanding agreements.

In the last few hours, sources from Junts have only conveyed one message: their intention is to take advantage of the "moment of crisis" Sánchez is experiencing to further leverage his relationship with the Spanish government. Junts still has the amnesty file pending, which the Constitutional Court must resolve next week, in addition to the official status of Catalan in Europe, the transfer of immigration powers (which vetoes Podemos in the Congress of Deputies), and also the economic agreement file, which they also included in their investiture pact.

Initially, Sánchez was also scheduled to meet with Esquerra this Tuesday after the photo with Nogueras and Turull, but they have finally rescheduled the meeting and it will be tomorrow, Wednesday, the same day as the control session in the Congress of Deputies where the Spanish president will face questions from the PNV and EH Bildu. Tomorrow will also be the turn of the PNV and EH Bildu.

The date of the appearance

In parallel with the round of contacts with his parliamentary partners, the Congress of Deputies has set a date for Sánchez's appearance to explain the Cerdán case, one of the measures he announced yesterday, Monday, along with the Koldo investigation committee to address the crisis. It will finally be held on July 9, three weeks away, despite the other political parties' demands for an earlier date. Only the PSOE defended this date at the meeting of spokespersons for the Spanish chamber this morning. The PP, in fact, will try to force him to appear this week at an extraordinary plenary session, but whether it is convened depends on the speaker of the lower house, Francina Armengol (PSOE). ERC's leader in Congress, Gabriel Rufián, criticized the decision on X: "They tell us that the president of the government cannot appear in Congress anymore because he must fulfill his international agenda. He should understand that to continue fulfilling this agenda, he must remain president of the government."

At the same time, Sánchez published a letter addressed to PSOE members in which he once again apologizes, defending the Socialists' actions in a case involving three people. "We denounce corrupt practices; others cover them up and protect them, even using patriotic police officers," he emphasized, referring to the PP, which he criticized for wanting to "bring down the government at any cost."