The Spanish government has already announced that it is not prepared to respond to the appeal for dialogue made by Catalan president Carles Puigdemont from the door of Neumünster prison on Friday, an appeal which was repeated in his Berlin press conference on Saturday.
With the governing Popular Party holding its annual party conference this weekend in Seville, sources close to the Spanish executive have given assurances, that as long as Mariano Rajoy is PP leader, the government will “never” talk with Puigdemont, whom they define as “a fugitive” from justice with whom contact is “impossible”. Any interaction, they suggest, will only take place when there is a Catalan government that “complies with the law”.
Spain's justice minister Rafael Catalá has also spoken about this question. "The first thing that Mr. Puigdemont has to do is face his responsibilities before the law and stop running from justice, which shows his lack of ethical and democratic commitment as a person and a political leader," affirmed the Spanish minister.
On the other hand, PP party sources have suggested that their party leadership is beginning to consider the possibility that, following the decision by German justice, the Catalan president intends to let the deadlines for the election of a new Catalan president pass and then go to new elections in Catalonia. However, they assure that the Spanish state will contest any decision by German justice favourable to Puigdemont's interests.