Sánchez and Díaz had planned to have a government agreement before the end of the month but now they prefer not to talk about dates

MADRID, 22 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –

PSOE and Sumar face the final stretch of October, the month in which they conspired to try to have a coalition agreement ready, immersed in the negotiation to forge that pact and with the reduction of the working day as one of the main points that they keep distance

It has also emerged that other issues in contention are the maintenance of the current extraordinary taxes on banking and energy companies, as claimed this week by the leader of Sumar and vice president, Yolanda Díaz. Furthermore, the recognition of the Palestinian State unconditionally and urgently is another of Sumar’s requests.

On the 4th, the acting president, Pedro Sánchez, and Díaz met in the new round of contacts for the investiture and both parties agreed to intensify the conversations, with the desire to be able to reach a government agreement in October. However, as the weeks have passed, both parties avoid talking about specific dates.

In the case of Sumar, the negotiating team is made up of the Secretaries of State Nacho Álvarez and Joaquín Pérez Rey, as well as the MEP Maria Eugenia Rodríguez Palop as coordinator of the coalition’s electoral program.

Meanwhile, the PSOE appointed a negotiating commission with the parliamentary groups, which includes the acting Minister of Finance and Public Function and deputy general secretary of the PSOE, María Jesús Montero, and the acting Minister of the Presidency, Relations with the Cortes and Democratic Memory. , Félix Bolaños and the acting Minister of Education, Pilar Alegría, among others.

However, both parties emphasize that the month of October does not imply a deadline and on Friday, for example, the Minister of Consumer Affairs Alberto Garzón stated that the ‘deadline’ is marked by November, given that the limit is set on November 27. of that month, when the Cortes Generales would be dissolved if no one manages to be invested and new general elections would be called.

Various Sumar officials have recently expressed optimism in negotiations that are being initiated discreetly and moving forward, but they emphasize the need to achieve an ambitious agreement.

Thus, both Nacho Álvarez and Sumar’s spokesperson, Ernest Urtasun, as well as his counterpart in Congress, Marta Lois, have pointed out that there cannot be a Government at “any price”, that the legislature cannot be of mere “continuity” or at “idle” and that for this it is necessary to achieve concrete and clear progress on the social agenda, as they appreciate that has been done at the territorial level with the debate on the possible amnesty law.

However, this week both Sumar spokespersons have focused on the fact that an issue that is keeping the negotiations “stuck” and where they are far from being the reduction of the working day, which they will ask for until the end because it is a fundamental matter and thus revealing the reluctance of the PSOE to include this proposal.

From Díaz’s ranks they already made it clear that this reduction in working time was an essential part of their aspiration to promote a new Workers’ Statute of the 21st century, together with other proposals such as toughening dismissal, a care law with leave paid workers and more housing initiatives.

Díaz also pointed out that another element is to maintain the tax on banks and energy companies, given that Sumar is pushing for it to be included in the agreement and since the electoral campaign he emphasized that tax reform should be an essential element of the future Government.

The socialists insist on the need to reissue a coalition government with Sumar to move forward with the social agenda they deployed during the last legislature, and point out that access to housing will be one of the priorities in the coming years.

At the moment they have not specified details about the pact with Sumar, aware that the main obstacle for there to be a Government is to attract the votes of Junts and they are concentrating a good part of their efforts on that negotiation.

After the meeting between Díaz and Sánchez at the beginning of October, they set the month ahead to seal a government agreement, however, as the weeks have progressed, the socialists have chosen to stop talking about dates.

In fact, in the PSOE they have cooled down the possibility of a quick investiture and the possibility of the vote getting closer to the deadline of November 27 is becoming increasingly stronger.

In Moncloa and Ferraz they maintain that they are not worried, they believe that there will finally be an agreement and they assure that the negotiations are developing as they had originally thought, without last-minute complications, although they admit that they are complex and therefore it is difficult to solve them in a few weeks.

Although the great obstacle to Sánchez’s reelection lies in Junts and its demands for amnesty, referendum and international mediator, there is another parallel negotiation to reissue the coalition with Sumar.

In any case, the socialists have decided to stop talking about dates and not set time limits, and this affects both the negotiations with the independence movement and the conversations with Sumar. They therefore adhere to the slogan of “absolute discretion” to be able to reach agreements “as soon as possible”, but they avoid specifying whether the date set with Sumar to have a Government agreement is still in force.

On the other hand, Podemos has distanced itself from the conversations with Sumar and proposes negotiating in a differentiated manner with the PSOE its five key proposals for the legislature, such as raising the minimum wage to 1,500 euros, freezing rental prices during the legislature, repeal the ‘Gag’ Law or renew the General Council of the Judiciary.

And they have also put on the table that they be present within the Executive and that it is essential for the Minister of Equality, Irene Montero, to repeat the next term in office.

The purples have defended that these requirements are the best formula to have a stable Government, given that they have already reaffirmed that they want to act with political autonomy within Sumar, but they have also recognized that both the socialists and the Díaz party have not responded to their request. application.

IU has also expressed its proposals for the legislature, which also includes the freezing of rent, the reform of local financing and a guaranteed employment plan to create one million jobs, together with its request to also be within the Executive.

On the other hand, the regionalist forces of the coalition have outlined requirements for this legislature to deploy an agenda in their respective territories, as is the case of regional financing (shared by Compromís and Sumar), the transfer of the management of ‘ rodalies’ to Catalonia (the ‘commons’) and the development of the Balearic Special Regime (Més per Mallorca).