Together for Catalonia (Junts) has reacted to the announcement by Pedro Sánchez that he is carrying on at the head of the Spanish government. Junts general secretary, Jordi Turull, has accused the Socialist (PSOE) leader of "interfering in the Catalan election". "Prime minister Sánchez was not ignorant of the context in which he decided to open this crisis: in the midst of the election campaign in Catalonia, in which his own party is running on the basis of turning a page and putting an end to Catalan national demands", said Turull in an institutional appearance from Argelers (Northern Catalonia). "It is seriously irresponsible to exploit the emotions over the hurt caused by shameful media harassment as an electoral or pre-electoral tactical move, and to interfere in the Catalan elections", asserted the pro-independence party's general secretary.
Turull accused Sánchez of trying to convert the May 12th elections into a "tool for the political survival of his party". "It is an action unbecoming of someone with his responsibility", said Turull, who affirmed that on May 12th, "the future of Catalonia and its people" is at stake. "That has always been and always will be our priority", stated the Junts politician.
Sánchez "has not tried to reverse this situation"
Likewise, Turull also criticized Pedro Sánchez for not making any proposal to redirect the situation that has caused this crisis. "He did not announce any initiative to tackle it, which further demonstrates the electoral nature of his manoeuvre", said Turull, noting that the quality of Spanish democracy "has for a long time been far away from" the standards of a state of law.
In fact, Turull affirmed that Spanish democracy "has been going backwards for years", but warned that it has been doing so "with the complicity of the PSOE". "Curiously, it has gone around Europe selling the idea that there is no systemic problem", railed Turull, in harsh words for Pedro Sánchez. In fact, he recalled the "shameful" application of Article 155 to impose direct rule on Catalonia, the imprisonment of the Catalan political prisoners and the human rights violations denounced by the United Nations and the Council of Europe. "Were those not signs that were more than obvious of the gravity of Spain's democratic decline? Seriously, has he only felt the need to wonder whether it's worth continuing when the object of the harassment has been himself and his family?" Turull asked.
For this reason, the general secretary of Junts demanded further explanations from Pedro Sánchez, who announced that he had decided to carry on at the head of the Spanish government after five days of reflection on the judicially-accepted complaint by Manos Limpias against his wife. Furthermore, as Turull said, the democratic failings of the Spanish state did not stop there: he recalled the issues of police violence on October 1st, 2017, the persecution of pro-independence protesters and the fabrication of evidence to "destroy the reputation of pro-independence leaders".