Together they embrace anti-Sanchism

BarcelonaFor Junts, the investiture agreement with the PSOE was based on a fundamental premise: it had to be very different from the one ERC had made in previous legislatures. That's why they strove from day one to make it clear that they weren't part of any investiture bloc, and they tried to position themselves midway between the forces supporting the Spanish government (basically progressive parties but also the PNV) and the opposition formed by the PP and Vox. In a context of polarization between support for and opposition to Sánchez, a paradigm that also affects the predominantly pro-Sánchez Catalan political ecosystem, Junts was walking a very narrow path that forced them to perform a certain parliamentary contortion: now I'll agree to this with the government, now I'll give them that back with the PP and Vox, for example, the tax. This delicate balance has been broken by a combination of factors and has definitively collapsed.The video game In which Miriam Nogueras slams Pedro Sánchez today, the Spanish right wing is salivating and places Junts in the corner of those who want to bring down the Spanish president.

The problem for Junts is that it doesn't have a viable Spanish candidate other than Sánchez. According to the latest CEO poll, 59% of Junts voters approve of Sánchez, while only 12% approve of Feijóo, and 9% of Abascal. In Catalonia, even economic powers prefer the Socialist leader in La Moncloa (the Prime Minister's residence) to a Feijóo-Abascal tandem that could reignite unrest in Catalonia. And it's important to remember that in this scenario, Junts would lose the significant lever of power it gained in the July 2023 elections: the ability to veto or approve laws in the Spanish Congress.

However, it remains to be seen how far Junts will actually take its stand against Sánchez. The Spanish president has the ability to corner Junts with contentious votes in Congress (on aid, pensions, etc.) and subject them to significant attrition before calling elections. There is no doubt, either, that a faction within Junts now feels free to defend more right-wing positions without the burden of supporting a progressive icon like Sánchez. But of course, this implies taking a specific stance at a time of global polarization between two sides (Trump vs. Mamdani), which is precisely what Jordi Pujol always sought to avoid.