A year ago, Carles Puigdemont decided that his seven deputies in Congress would make President of the Government Pedro Sanchez. In return, Sánchez would amnesty all independentists who had committed crimes. The socialist leader, aware of the lack of enthusiasm that this decision provoked in his ranks, appeared before his party and left two anesthetic ideas. First: he defended the amnesty “in the name of Spain” (in the name of Spain?). Second: amnestying independentists who committed crimes is “making a virtue of necessity.”
In those days, Sánchez managed to maintain the parliamentary coalition that already supported him in the previous legislature, but adding Puigdemont. The artifact was named “progressive majority”, although the reactionary Catalan and Basque right-wing parties participate (political language supports everything). And in these 12 months, the president has demonstrated his enormous versatility to promise Podemos the opposite of what he did to Junts, break promises with both and move forward with the support of both.
A year later, Puigdemont lives in Waterloo despite the amnesty. The fugitive needs attention because no one pays attention to him, and he tells the president to raise a question of trust. The demand could not be more inconsequentialsince issues of trust are a constitutional resource that only depends on the heads of government.
But pay attention to the background: a couple of years ago, Puigdemont made the same demand to his then Esquerra partner in the Generalitat and, since they did not listen to him, he broke up the coalition government. Now, the former Catalan president is looking for his 15 minutes of fame corresponding to this month, so that we do not forget that he has seven deputies with whom he maintains his supposed control over Sánchez. Just assumption.
Puigdemont asks for affection in the form of attention, Sánchez will grant it with some deceptive seasoning and, if everything is as it seems, The legislature will continue with new Budgets, which are the real question of confidence to which a government submits every year. Or not, because Sánchez avoided it this year, violating article 134 of the Constitution, which establishes that “the Government must present the General State Budgets to the Congress of Deputies at least three months before the expiration of the terms.” from the previous year.
As can be read, the article makes it clear that the Government “shall” (obligation), it does not say that it “may” (option). AND For the 2025 Budgets, the Constitution has been breached again because it is ordered that the presentation of the Accounts be “three months before” December 31. But hairs to the sea.