Junts' ultimatum to Feijóo places the PP before a decision that could entail a high political cost

Junts has thrown down the gauntlet to the Popular Party. The general secretary of the pro-independence party, Jordi Turull, challenged the leader of the 'popular' party this Tuesday, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, to meet with Carles Puigdemont in Waterloo if he "has something serious to explain" about a possible motion of no confidence against the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez.

A proposal that places the PP leader in a complex scenario and that Génova will have to chew on carefully. For now, Feijóo has chosen not to comment on the matter when questioned by journalists as he left the Cercle d'Economia meeting with Catalan businessmen: "We are going to talk about serious things".

Because, although a meeting with Puigdemont could open a channel of dialogue with Junts at a time of maximum parliamentary tension, it could also have a high symbolic cost for the popular party, which, however, has been holding Sánchez's partners responsible for maintaining a government surrounded by judicial investigations that implicate the PSOE.

For Junts, the legislature is exhausted. This is what they have stated in recent days, and for this reason, Feijóo is considering exploring parliamentary support for an alternative to the coalition government.

But an eventual pact with Puigdemont's party could backfire on Feijóo, even more so if we look at the archives, which do not exactly pave the way for the leader of the 'popular' party in this regard.

Harsh criticism against Sánchez's pacts

Throughout the legislature, the PP has harshly criticized the contacts maintained by the PSOE with Puigdemont and the negotiations held in Belgium to push through key agreements.

In November 2023, when the PSOE reached an agreement with Junts to invest Sánchez as President of the Government on the 17th of that month, Feijóo even accused Ferraz of having "surrendered to the demands of the independence movement".

"We will fight with all our means against this drift and against this horse-trading of votes for privileges," Feijóo stated in a press conference in which he denounced that pact with Puigdemont's party.

Therefore, it is not surprising that an image of Feijóo meeting with the leader of Junts in Waterloo would be used by his political adversaries to denounce an apparent contradiction with a discourse maintained until relatively recently.

Clash of narratives: "Cynicism and desperation"

In fact, the Government has already anticipated this possible scenario this Tuesday. The Executive's spokesperson, Elma Saiz, has described Feijóo's initiative as "cynicism" and "desperation", in a press conference after the Council of Ministers, in which she questioned the strategy of the main opposition party.

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The minister pointed out that in territories such as Catalonia and the Basque Country, the Government has promoted agreements that, as she defended, have contributed to progress in self-government and reflect the political plurality of the State.

In that context, she reproached the PP for habitually criticizing these types of pacts, while now, she said, it resorts to those same forces to try to articulate a parliamentary majority.

Rejection within the PP ranks and clash with Vox

Genoa's change of tone may not sit well with the 'popular' ranks. "Spain urgently needs a Government with autonomy to govern and a majority capable of defending the general welfare above all else," Feijóo told Catalan businessmen at the Cercle d'Economia this Tuesday.

However, that hypothetical "majority" may not convince a significant portion of the 'popular' electorate, who continue to identify Puigdemont as one of the central figures of the 2017 independence challenge, which could generate discomfort among voters and also territorial leaders of the party.

Vox, for its part, would predictably take advantage of any meeting to accuse the PP of adopting strategies that it has repeatedly censured when the Sánchez Government has led them.

This Tuesday, Vox's parliamentary spokesperson, Pepa Millán, has already said that she does not believe Spaniards want a Government led by Feijóo "with the support of the separatists," although she continues to demand a motion of no confidence that would hardly succeed without the support of Catalan nationalists.

Advantages for Feijóo

However, the operation could also have advantages for Feijóo. A meeting with Puigdemont would allow the PP president to project an image of willingness to dialogue with all forces represented in Congress in search of a possible parliamentary alternative.

Furthermore, any progress that would facilitate a majority other than the current one would be presented by the Popular Party as an attempt to unblock the political situation.

Turull's reference to Waterloo shifts the pressure to the PP leader, who will have to decide if he is willing to bear the political cost of a photograph with Puigdemont to explore an eventual alternative majority to Sánchez's government.

Now, the ball is in Génova's court. "I will do everything possible to change the government. And when I say everything, I mean everything," Feijóo told his party members last week at a party event. A statement that can be interpreted as a full declaration of intent regarding this matter.