Sánchez renounces judicial approach to Catalan issue

Pedro Sánchez inherited an ample portfolio of lawsuits and judicial litigations between the Government of the Generalitat and the Catalan parliament on June 1 from his predecessor Mariano Rajoy that he has no wish to expand. In his appearance before the press yesterday to present his balance of the new government’s actions after only two months in office, the Spanish prime minister made it clear that the policy of immediate judicial response in the Catalan issue has ended and that he prefers to explore political means and bilateral dialogue. “The government does not want to open any more judicial proceedings,” he said. Even so, the Spanish president stated that he opts for a solution to the conflict that will not take place during this legislature and that “will demand the vote of the Catalans” on an agreement that represents 80% of the Catalan people.

In his analysis of his government so far Sánchez boasted that the change in government marked a new period in Spanish politics reflected by the end of the “seven years of lethargy” of the Rajoy adminstration especially in dealing with Catalonia and celebrated that the reestablishment of the bilateral commission between central government and the Generalitat was a positive step in the right direction.