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That Pedro Sánchez is in a hurry to stop being acting prime minister is obvious. He reached an agreement with Podemos, a party he didn't believe in just a few hours before, to avoid destabilising moves in his own ranks, something the passing of the days has revealed to be impossible. At the start of the legislature this Tuesday, Sánchez is maintaining what is apparently his preferred choice, which consists of getting ERC's votes for the lowest cost possible, but without completely discarding what could, at this point, be his plan B (with Sánchez you don't know which is the plan A or the plan B) which would involve PP and/or Ciudadanos enabling his investiture.

Some of his latest winks have been aimed at those two right-wing parties, inviting them to urgently enable the formation of a new government and guarantee stability. In fact, he'll meet on Wednesday with right-wing parties after the invitation from Inés Arrimadas. Curiously, Arrimadas and Sánchez have moved closer, even if only apparently so, the day after it was published in large print that there's unease in the Zarzuela royal palace about PSOE's negotiations with Podemos and ERC. When Zarzuela has to leak its intentions and nobody comes out to deny or explain it in any print paper, you can bet there's something to it.

Meanwhile, the PSOE delegation will meet this Tuesday with ERC's, who have put the investiture in a low gear, hoping, perhaps, that Sánchez will make his mind up. Also, slowing PSOE's timescales, wanting a fast-track agreement whilst ERC are looking for a full-blown negotiation. The way things are going, the figure of a notary would be useful for them as PSOE is doing nothing but dodge the demands of the parliamentary group led by Gabriel Rufián with nice words and the time factor. PSOE will also meet with Junts per Catalunya, an appointment which seems to be more a formality than anything. But today's fluid politics allows us to dismiss nothing.

In the middle of this PSOE jigsaw, the leaders feeling the most uncomfortable are Podemos's who, unlike Sánchez, have only got a plan A which they've already signed with their agreement for a government with PSOE. So they're pressuring ERC to hurry to close an agreement and En Comú has started to talk seriously about the Catalan government's budget. In politics, nobody gives nothing in exchange for nothing and it's clear that approving a budget would be an excellent start for vice-president Pere Aragonès for the Catalan election. Bringing together all the pieces before Christmas isn't easy nor likely, however much Pedro Sánchez insists, without moving a muscle, on the urgency of forming a government and putting only crumbs on the negotiating table.