The possibility of a Catalan amnesty law linked to negotiations for a hypothetical investiture of Pedro Sánchez as next Spanish prime minister has been dominating political news in Catalonia and Spain for days. However, the exiled Catalan president and founder of Junts, Carles Puigdemont, has stated through social media that, at present, "there are no negotiations underway with anyone, nor has any amnesty project been presented to any political party". In addition, he wanted to address the rumours that attributed the changes to the Catalan exile body which he heads, Council of the Republic, to possible negotiations for the investiture. His answer was very clear: "Nor, of course, have I taken any decision regarding the Council of the Republic based on the possible negotiations that could be undertaken".
Quinze dies després de l’acord per a la mesa del Congrés dels Diputats, la quantiat d’especulacions en forma d’informació que han anat apareixent porten, probablement, a algunes conclusions errònies que caldrà aclarir aviat. No hi ha cap negociació en marxa amb ningú, ni s’ha…
— krls.eth / Carles Puigdemont (@KRLS) August 31, 2023
In the social media post, Puigdemont clarified that "conversations" are taking place with different political actors, but he warned: "I want to say that one has to be very careful not to confuse these conversations with a negotiation. For too long the concept of 'dialogue' has been used as a synonym of 'negotiation', when they are two significantly different concepts". He pointed out that the dialogue "can be used to set the framework in which [negotiation] can take place, or it can be used to confirm that there is no room for negotiation".
"Since we decided not to speak through intermediaries or through the media, it is inevitable that others will do it for us and create fictions", he noted with regret, remarking that Junts's decisive position "carries a responsibility, above all towards our voters and towards Catalans, and that is why both the form and the substance matter".
In order to guarantee access to direct information, Puigdemont has announced that next Tuesday, September 5th at 11am he will speak at the opening session of the interparliamentary conference taking place in Brussels, in which he will explain what the proposal of Together for Catalonia is to start negotiations.
The Comuns, in defence of the amnesty
From the left-wing political space of Sumar and its Catalan representatives, En Comú Podem, the passing of an amnesty law to bring to an end judicial prosecutions over the Catalan independence process has been backed as part of the negotiations for a possible investiture. This very Thursday, the Comuns leader in Catalonia, Jéssica Albiach, spoke on the subject in the same terms as the rest of her political space, claiming the need for an amnesty, which she defined as "indispensable and necessary".
Albiach explained that the amnesty law is the first issue that has been put on the negotiation table and that Jaume Asens, who is leading the "negotiations" on behalf of Sumar, has conveyed to him that there is "a very good predisposition on all sides". All of this collides directly with the statements made by Puigdemont this Thursday, in which he states flatly that negotiations have not started, despite the fact that there is dialogue between several political actors.