Zapatero, the PSOE firefighter in whom Puigdemont does trust

Barcelona / MadridOn the day that Junts presented the immigration agreement with the PSOE to delegate the powers of the Generalitat, former president Carles Puigdemont admitted that at this time his distrust of the Spanish government had diminished, but made it clear that in no case were they paving the way for the Spanish budget. The idea remains the same for Junts: to act folder by folder. However, beyond this skepticism that marks the relations between socialists and junteros, there is a politician with whom Puigdemont has forged a bond of trust in recent years: former Spanish president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. A key piece, for both the PSOE and Junts sources consulted, of the machinery that makes the Spanish legislature work.

Since November 2023, when the Brussels agreement was signed, Zapatero has participated in the negotiations between both parties and has also been decisive in resolving the latest crisis between the partners, of which an immigration agreement has finally been reached. Zapatero himself feels like the father of that pact, say those consulted. And, in fact, this week he publicly expressed his "great satisfaction" with the result. "He is the man who has most honestly helped to resolve the Catalan conflict," says a leader from Junts who has known him for years, while another adds: "He has always finished things off so that things move forward." Zapatero, all sources agree, does have a federalizing vision of the State, in addition to having defended from the very beginning of the election night of June 23 a fundamental move that for him is long-term: that the PSOE, to govern Spain and counter the PP and Vox, must weave strategic alliances with strategic alliances. There is a question of conviction, but also pragmatics, those consulted agree.

From you to you

Zapatero is the one who speaks face to face with Puigdemont in the absence of the Spanish president, Pedro Sánchez, with whom the leader of Junts does not yet have a direct dialogue. "He is the main interlocutor," another source reaffirms, beyond the relationship that has also been developed by the general secretary of Junts, Jordi Turull, together with the secretary of organization of the PSOE, Santos Cerdán. To summarise it, one of those consulted summarises, Zapatero reaches where Cerdán does not, although they are the ones who usually participate in the meetings in Switzerland with the Salvadoran mediator Francisco Galindo.

The former Spanish president is the one who conveys to Junts the margin that there is with Moncloa to make viable all the demands that they put on the table: "He says what cannot be. Or what is very difficult to achieve, but that he will try." In this sense, the sources point out that he has already met with Puigdemont "about ten or twelve times". "He has saved many times match ball", adds another Catalan leader. From Madrid they compare him to an international mediator: if he has a role in the negotiation with Junts, they say, it is because of his political authority, his willingness to dialogue and his track record.

From Sánchez's hard core

The fact that Zapatero has neither organic positions in the party nor is a member of the government helps him to play this role: "It gives him a role ofoutsider" useful in the case of Junts. Nowadays, however, this has not prevented him from being the most reduced circle of Pedro Sánchez. "He is the one he most trusts in" beyond the nucleus of confidence of the government, summarizeix a source. Zapatero informs Pedro Sánchez, together with the president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, who gives you updates on the status of The relations between them and not being an actor in the negotiation. From the Casa dels Canonges, there is every discretion.

For the socialists, there is a common thread between Zapatero and the six "pioneers" politicians with the current Sánchez. spanish, diuen. Thus, Zapatero stands as the antithesis of the former president Felipe González, who has become the leader of the PSOE-Sumar coalition government.

But Zapatero's influence lies more in Junts or in acting as a trusted person for Sánchez. It is also a territorial claim of the PSOE – it has been seen in the last congresses, both in Madrid and in Andalusia – and its shadow also appears in the Spanish president's bid to influence the strategic sectors of the State, starting with telecommunications. After the replacement of José María Álvarez-Pallete at Telefónica, and the promotion of Marc Murtra to the front, of the socialist environment, this week Javier de Paz, a "Zapatero man", was appointed. at the head of Movistar+.

His relationship with Catalonia

The Catalan situation has haunted the former Spanish president throughout his political career. From the photo on the balcony of the Generalitat with Pasqual Maragall or his I will support the Statute that comes out of the Parliament –which he did not fulfill– in the negotiation with Artur Mas on the Statute. But his career has also been marked by the Basque Country –solving the conflict with ETA was the great bet as president– and outside Moncloa he has stood out as an international mediator, in the case of Venezuela, for example, where he has also helped the Spanish president. Since he started, then, Zapatero "has gained a lot of strategic vision", sums up one of those consulted, since he notes that in critical moments he has always come to the rescue of Pedro Sánchez. And he will continue to do so.