Former Catalan President Carles Puigdemont and representatives of the ruling Socialist Party met in Geneva in a bid to mend relations after his party voted against the ruling Socialists.
Catalan party leader JxCat Puigdemont met with a delegation led by party secretary Santos Cerdán on Friday, according to Spanish media. However, Digital Transformation Minister Óscar López stated on Saturday that the centre-left party had not publicly announced possible talks with other political formations.
Whenever it has had meetings, (the PSOE) has always confirmed them and explained them transparently and normally. The Socialist Party will explain, in the event that any meeting takes place, the agreements that are reached and the meetings that take place.
Last Friday’s meeting would be the second encounter between the PSOE and Puigdemont after talks a year ago when Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s party held talks with the former Catalan president in Geneva.
Over the weekend, analysts speculated that the real reason for the meeting was the deterioration in relations between the PSOE and Puigdemont after JxCat voted in parliament last week along with the Spanish People’s Party and the VOX party against a government proposal to regulate seasonal contracts and room rental agreements.
The fragile stability of the coalition government between Sánchez’s PSOE and Sumar’s leftist platform depends on the support of others, including the seven deputies of the JxCat. However, the PSOE criticises the JxCat.
The main obstacle facing the government in the coming weeks will be the approval of the 2025 national budget, for which Puigdemont is also needed. The former president of Catalonia stated on X on Saturday:
I’m not surprised that with the media frenzy and the lack of rigor that often accompanies it, neither one nor the other can fully understand it. Our political vocation is not to provide stability or wear anyone down. Our goal is to defend Catalonia and the interests of the Catalans, and whoever helps us will have our support, whether to govern or to oppose; whoever does the opposite or who deceives us (or makes the partridge dizzy), does not count.
Last week, the JxCat leader warned that his party would again reject the latest draft budget, which should be voted on in October. This could be the government’s second defeat and would jeopardise the continuity of Sánchez’s executive.
