The PP presidents agree to meet with Sánchez in exchange for concessions on the agenda.
The Conference of Presidents will discuss financing, housing, employment, and the justice reforms that the Spanish president wants to promote.
BarcelonaThere will be no snub from the regional presidents of the People's Party (PP) at the Conference of Presidents. The arm wrestling match between Alberto Núñez Feijóo's party and the Spanish government over the summit to be held this Friday in Barcelona has resulted in a Solomonic solution: the central government has agreed to include on the agenda each and every one of the points that the PP had requested to be discussed. men of the PP, and they, in return, will be photographed with the Spanish president, Pedro Sánchez, in the Catalan capital just two days before of the demonstration that the party has called against its governmentThe toll that Sánchez will have to pay will be having to argue with the men from the PP, issues that were not included in their plans, such as regional financing, debt forgiveness, occupations, border control, and the massive blackout. The executive has given in, although it warns that there are issues "that must be addressed in other bodies."
recalled that the Spanish government had initially proposed focusing the summit on two topics—housing, and universities and vocational training—but that it made a second proposal incorporating some of the topics proposed by the autonomous regions, both those of the PP and the rest. At the meeting, the Spanish government came to discuss financing—Castilla-La Mancha had also requested this—energy and immigration—at the proposal of the Canary Islands—and railway infrastructure. All of these topics will also be included on the agenda for Friday's summit, as will the lack of professionals. Minutes will be kept of the meeting, the presidents may be accompanied by an advisor, and interventions may be made in the co-official language, as requested by Catalonia and the Basque Country.
Early this Tuesday, before the Spanish government announced that it was giving in to the PP, the possibility of them being men They would snub Sánchez this Friday—the Popular Party had even threatened to take the Spanish government to court if it did not meet their demands. Without going any further, the President of Andalusia, Juanma Moreno, stated that he found it "difficult" to attend the Conference if the Spanish government did not expand the agenda. As the host of the event, at the Pedralbes Palace, the Government called for calm and avoided being the scene of the snub, which would have left the meeting with only the four Socialist presidents, the Lehendakari, and the President of the Canary Islands attending the regional benches.
"It would be regrettable if this body were to be used politically," warned the minister and spokesperson for the Government, Silvia Paneque, at a press conference after the executive council meeting. Paneque maintained that the first obligation of all presidents is to defend their respective autonomous communities, which she sees as incompatible with leaving the chair empty. "One can go and express disagreements. I don't know what explanation can be given for the absence," he said.
With the ghost of the snub dispelled, Génova celebrated having asserted its territorial power against Sánchez and being able to bring its agenda to the Conference of Presidents. "Our presidents have stood up to the government and twisted its arm. Sánchez will have his photo, and we will have our priorities on the agenda," stated party sources. The president of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, has expressed a similar sentiment, believing that with the outcome of this standoff, the PP has demonstrated its "regional power." "We will be very clear: not half a concession to the independence movement," added the president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, regarding what they will convey to the presidents at Friday's meeting.
Regional financing
The PP's request to debate financing overlaps with the final stretch of the schedule the Catalan government has set for addressing the unique model for Catalonia and agreeing on it with the Spanish government. The government has no interest in discussing this issue in this forum, although it will not oppose it. Paneque has advocated, in this regard, prioritizing the housing agenda at Friday's meeting. For example, to analyze how to expand the public housing stock, how to carry out the transfer of Sareb assets, or assess the application of the housing law.
On the other hand, from Comuns, David Cid has urged the president of the Generalitat and the president of the state to address unique financing and the housing challenge at the summit. "Given the PP's scorched-earth agenda, we need to address the needs of the people," he said. For her part, the spokesperson for the Catalan regional government in the chamber, Mònica Sales, asserted that "Catalonia should not be involved" in the "pitched battle between the PP and the PSOE," which she described as the struggle at the Conference of Presidents. She added that issues such as financing, self-government, and housing should be "negotiated bilaterally with the State" and not multilaterally, as at the summit of presidents.
