Catalonia’s JxCat party would never be anyone’s political hostage, its leader Carles Puigdemont warned in a direct message to Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
Puigdemont demanded on Saturday that the prime minister honour all agreements reached in order to have enough parliamentary support to remain in power. The former Catalan president said he and his party were ready to “bear political and personal costs” if the coalition government of the PSOE and the Sumar platform fell.
The [political] carrots that they put in front of us or could have put in front of us do not deceive us, nor do they interest us. We want deeds and fulfilment and see things happen and are done differently.
Puigdemont’s new warnings were accompanied by his demand that Sánchez face a vote of no confidence in parliament. November marked the first anniversary of the agreement signed between the PSOE and JxCat, which promised support for Sánchez in exchange for Madrid’s full compliance.
Seven MPs from JxCat in Madrid, another seven from the ERC, as well as the votes of the two main Basque pro-independence parties, the PNV and EH Bildu, are needed to keep the government in place until the end of the current term in 2027. Puigdemont’s statements also threaten the approval of the 2025 national budget, which JxCat rejected last summer, as it allegedly does not include Catalonia’s interests.
Let no one think that we will not maintain our position.
Sánchez has repeatedly said he has no intention of calling an early election if he loses the support of JxCat and the ERC. However, in an attempt to defuse tensions, the PSOE will meet again with JxCat representatives in Switzerland this week.
The list of unfulfilled promises includes, as Puigdemont recalled, devolving powers over migration policy and creating an autonomous tax levying system similar to that of the Basque Country and Navarre.
The pledges also include making Catalan one of the official languages of the Spanish parliament and EU institutions. Although the Sánchez government has so far failed to make Catalan the official language of the EU, partly due to opposition from the bloc’s other partners, Spain has renewed diplomatic efforts to achieve the goal in recent weeks.
