Pedro Sánchez has given his first interview as Spanish prime minister from the Moncloa government palace to public broadcaster TVE. And it had a poor audience in Catalonia, slightly over 10%. Very far, for example, from president Puigdemont's last interview on TV3, which reached almost 30% share and the 20% for president Torra in his first appearance on Catalonia's public channel. Assessment? Very different to Rajoy's restricted manners, questions and short answers, a simple nod to the situation in Catalonia and a measured sentence on the Catalan political prisoners, saying that he considers it "reasonable" for them to be moved to Catalan prisons. In summary, no political initiative of importance other than moving Franco's remains from the Valle de los Caídos, which should have happened years ago.
What's certain is that Sánchez did send a notable message: he wants to last out the legislature. Blimey! Without any decided political support beyond PSOE's perimeter, but the Moncloa has to be the springboard to rescue the party electorally and to consolidate the advances in the polls which have been visible since the government's first days. And the Catalan conflict? If Rajoy's strategy was no to everything, including dialogue, here they are venturing images of sitting on sofas, talking, but first they're defining the political framework in which the Catalan president will be received. Firstly, the order: Quim Torra will go to the Moncloa in the order of the passing of the statutes of autonomy, in other words, after the Basque president, Íñigo Urkullu, and ahead of the Galician president, Alberto Núñez Feijóo.
Secondly, they're not going to talk about funding of the autonomous communities. In the remaining two years of the legislature, that file is not going to be opened, despite that, legally, the system should have been reformed in 2014, when. Obviously, a fiscal pact is also out of question, since that system (concierto in Spanish) is exclusive to the Basque Country and Navarre. On the topic of the prisoners, he says that he thinks it's "reasonable" for them to be moved to Catalan prisons. Said like that, it sounds even offensive. It's not that it's reasonable, it's that that's what the law says once the investigation is closed, which judge Llarena will do very shortly. A political declaration would have been for him to say he considers it reasonable for them to be released until the trial. The rest, let's not get confused: it's an administrative declaration by an intermediate official.
No talk of a referendum, no talk of a fiscal pact and no release of the Catalan political prisoners, but everything else can be discussed. Well, not about everything. Because the laws challenged by the Spanish government to the Constitutional Court remain with the judges and the new Spanish government hasn't withdrawn the appeals. That said, minister Meritxell Bata says that it's the time to take risks. And I agree. Although I can't see what risk the state wants to take on to unblock the Catalan conflict.