Dialogue in sight at last

The governments of Pedro Sánchez and Quim Torra are already working on the preparation of the meeting between the two leaders that will take place “in the coming weeks”, according to the Minister of Territorial Policy and Public Administration, the Catalan Meritxell Batet, appointed by the Spanish PM to lay the groundwork for the meeting. The two parties see this as an opportunity to go beyond a simple photograph on the porch of La Moncloa and to “negotiate”, a word that goes far beyond dialogue.

The call by Sánchez to Torra on Friday afternoon was followed by messages from the government that self-determination was not on the table and Batet’s clarification that the PSOE’s plan for “constitutional reform” did not include that either. The Generalitat’s spokesperson Elsa Artadi was skeptical about Madrid’s proposal doubting that it could be termed a “reform,”but said that Torra was eager to hear an explanation. Sánchez’s right-hand-man, José Luis Ábalos made it clear over the weekend that reform would include development for all of Spain’s autonomous communities.

One aspect mentioned by Batet was the recuperation of articles in Catalonia’s Statute of Autonomy which were cut by the Constitutional Court (TC) at the behest of the PP and not because of content in particular. Batet also noted the 14 laws deemed partially unconstitutional by the TC after being appealed by the PP. It is possible that many of these impediments can be revoked by governmental action and would not need to be reconsidered by the TC.

For ERC, one of the main points of discussion should be its demand for the release of all political prisoners.