Together allies with the PP to ascertain Sánchez's blockade

MadridWhile the judicial investigation against José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero progresses, with the indictment of his daughters and his secretary, the PSOE has received a symbolic setback in Congress due to Junts' pincer movement with the PP and Vox to approve a motion from Alberto Núñez Feijóo's party that states the "extreme weakness" of the Spanish government. After the progressive board of the lower house vetoed an amendment by Junts two days ago to this text, which added the demand for an early election, Carles Puigdemont's party has aligned itself with the Spanish right and far-right against Pedro Sánchez, even though the motion did not ultimately include any contribution from them. In parallel, despite losing this vote – which has no practical effect – Thursday's plenary session in the lower house ended with applause from the socialist benches because other matters were saved and this "annus horribilis week, marked by the judicial agenda, was survived.

the decision of PSOE and Sumar to block it in CongressDuring the debate on the cinema law, Junts deputy Josep Maria Cruset has warned the Spanish government not to be complacent despite the agreement reached on this matter. "There is a lot of work to be done and it must be done very quickly because the elections, even if some say otherwise, are just around the corner," warned the Junts member, referring to the fact that the final approval of the cinema law will not be immediate because it still has to go through several stages of parliamentary processing. Thus, Junts is caught between two stools, and although it is still willing to approve some norms of the Spanish government, next Wednesday it will once again ally itself with the Popular Party in the Senate in the vote on the text of its amendment vetoed in the lower house that asks Sánchez to call elections. Besides regaining the initiative to approve it in the upper house next Wednesday, the PP has also announced an appeal for protection before the Constitutional Court for the decision of PSOE and Sumar to block it in Congress.

The warnings from the Junts members this week do not worry the PSOE nor make them change their opinion regarding the objective of exhausting the legislature. "Everything is fine. Party by party and week by week," say socialist sources, who claim that they are still managing to pass votes. The closeness shown between Junts and the PP does not make them fear a derailment of the legislature because, for now, it does not materialize in a motion of no confidence with real effects. The leader of the Popular Party has assured from Brussels that he maintains "real-time contacts with all political formations," including Junts, but Popular sources downplay its scope and admit that despite the posturing, they have no prospects of causing a tectonic shift in the short term.

Precisely this assumption has provoked the criticism of Vox, the other piece necessary for the PP to gain more support than Sánchez. Far-right deputy José María Figaredo has denounced that the amendments from Junts and the PP were "smoke" and has criticized that it is a movement that "has no material force or impact." "A motion of no confidence must be presented," he demanded, and he warned Feijóo not to be complacent when talking about hypothetical alliances with them for the next legislature, because "there is a very high risk that Sánchez will win again" if they lower their guard. Meanwhile, ERC spokesperson in Congress, Gabriel Rufián, has once again said that Junts is colluding with the PP and Vox in Congress "against the people of Catalonia".