Josep Maria Cruset, general secretary of the Junts in Congress, used current figures on the phenomenon of recidivism and crime in Catalonia to underline his party’s position vis-à-vis the central government. During an interview on the RNE program “Parliament”, whose words were quoted by Europa Press, Cruset argued that the existence of 600 people classified as repeat offenders and more than 7,000 cumulative arrests was evidence that pending legislative changes needed to be addressed. This issue was seen as one of the bases for Junts’ decision to definitively break off its relations with the executive branch led by Pedro Sánchez.
According to Europa Press, Junts has reported that its break with the government is complete and irreversible and any support, negotiation or support for the general state budgets planned for 2024, as well as other initiatives promoted by Moncloa, is immediately excluded. The group led by Carles Puigdemont communicated this directly to the President of the Executive, pointing out that the “systematic non-compliance” with the agreements reached at the beginning of the legislative period had left no room for cooperation. The violations identified include both the lack of progress on the promised anti-squatting law and the failure to transfer immigration powers to the Generalitat, areas considered strategic by the Catalan formation.
Europa Press explained that the disagreements were exacerbated by a series of scandals that rocked the political and legal spheres. The resignation of the president of the Lugo Provincial Council following a complaint of sexual harassment, the well-known Salazar case and the arrest of the former militant Leire Díez and the former president of the State Society of Industrial Participations (SEPI) have led Junts to perceive a deteriorated political environment not conducive to a resumption of dialogue. These circumstances, together with the persistence of commitments that were not kept by the government, strengthened the position of the explicit break that Cruset described as final.
They demanded that the break in relations should be understood as a consequence of the lack of reciprocity and lack of compliance by the executive with the agreements signed after the investiture. Europa Press pointed out that Junts initially took an open and accepting stance, but the lack of satisfactory answers from Moncloa negated any willingness to cooperate. This distancing was already reflected in previous decisions, such as Junts’ vote against the government’s deficit course, and the Catalan party made it clear that it will not support the new budget project planned for Congress by Finance Minister María Jesús Montero.
According to information collected by Europa Press, Junts stressed that contacts or negotiations would only be resumed if the government fully respects the commitments signed at the beginning of the legislative period. Cruset stressed that neither Pedro Sánchez’s public admission of the delays nor Moncloa’s recent offers had been convincing to the party. The training assumes that relationship deterioration is not a temporary response to recent circumstances, but rather the result of an accumulation of disagreements due to unfulfilled agreements.
The Catalan parliamentary group fundamentally rejects the legislative proposals promoted by PSOE and Sumar, with the exception of the laws that have already been specifically negotiated, such as the Customer Service Act and the Sustainable Mobility Act, as Europa Press noted. In the specific case of the proposed law against multiple recidivism, Cruset specified in his speech that the initiative comes exclusively from Junts and that, to be successful, it will need the support of other parties, since the current parliamentary context forces it to seek the support of different bodies.
During his interview, Cruset denied that a possible offer from the board during the holiday season would change Junt’s position. He argued that trust was “exhausted” and that the separation was a response to a solid and irreversible situation as long as there were no strong signs of compliance with the agreement. For the Catalan leader, as Europa Press reports, it is the Socialist Party that is responsible for explaining to citizens the consequences that could arise from the lack of understanding, including the impact on parliamentary stability and the continuity of the legislature without the necessary support.
For now, the contact channel between both factions remains inactive, as Europa Press reports, and Junts is not considering reactivating any means of dialogue as long as what the group defines as a lack of gestures and progress from the executive continues. This position has remained unchanged since the beginning of the legislative period, according to party media circles, and there are no official signs of a possible short-term change.
At the legislative level, Junts has chosen to block new proposals presented by the government and only show availability to deal with the regulations already previously negotiated. Regarding the law on multiple recidivism, which Cruset referred to in detail, the Catalan group will look for alternative parliamentary alliances that will allow it to overcome the stagnation in relations with the central executive.
As compiled by Europa Press, Junts believes that political responsibility for the lack of government stability lies with the PSOE, which faces both a possible rejection of the budget and the need to seek additional support to maintain the current legislative term. In this context, the future of the executive’s legislative agenda depends on the development of political contacts and the possibility of Moncloa actually complying with the commitments it has made. The nationalist formation insists that any possibility of an agreement depends on the government showing its willingness to fully respect the signed agreements, which it still considers outstanding.
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