Podemos Exposes Junts's Contradictions

Carles Puigdemont obtained the key to the Government of Spain in the July 2023 elections against all odds. The investiture agreement with PSOE placed him in a privileged position to blackmail the Government with all kinds of demands and concessions. Since then, they have assumed the risk of always playing to the limit and with the threat of the red button of the motion of censure.

But overconfidence may end up costing him dearly.

Podemos is a factor that Junts did not count on when they announced with great fanfare the delegation of immigration competencies. Now they are forced to negotiate, and everything points to them having to comply if they want to pass the law.

Podemos has already set a price for their four votes, essential to unlock the immigration transfer law in the Congress of Deputies. The purples will only vote in favor in exchange for the ILP for the regularization of half a million illegal immigrants. Junts has opened up to negotiation, as they have no other choice.

Carles Puigdemont has fallen into his own trap. The one of using Spanish politics as a game of blackmail and transactions outside the majorities. He has also contributed to resurrecting Podemos.

With only four deputies, the purples have finally found the gap to wage their personal war with PSOE and (especially) Sumar.

A New Crisis in Sanchism

Junts and Podemos play the same game, taking advantage of the weakness of Pedro Sánchez's Government to overcome their own crises. The desperate situation of PSOE means that with only seven and four deputies, both can impose their demands on the Government. This not only represents an anomaly but also a contradiction since both parties suffered a severe punishment at the polls.

After breaking with Sumar, seeing PSOE's concessions to Junts, Podemos demanded the same favorable treatment to maintain their support for the Government. The purples already tried to blackmail the Government with the budgets. But the Junts-PSOE agreement on immigration has given them the perfect opportunity to assert their position of strength.

With their threat to vote against, they not only highlight the Government's weakness but also its irresolvable ideological polarization. The investiture bloc is divided between the left (ERC, Bildu, Podemos) and the right (PNV and Junts). Podemos has already warned the Government several times about the risk of being dragged by PNV and Junts in decrees like housing or electricity.

But Sánchez is tied hand and foot by the fear that Junts will approach PP for a possible motion of censure. This new dispute around immigration, with Podemos accusing Junts of being racist, opens a new crisis in Sanchism.

Podemos Exposes Junts's Contradictions

Podemos has also exposed Junts's contradictions. Without their affront, the post-convergents could have more or less sold their narrative, but now they are forced to make concessions. The regularization of half a million immigrants would expose Junts, who is trying to establish a conservative profile in Catalonia to compete with Sílvia Orriols.

This is not the only problem for Junts. The announcement of the transfer was initially well received by a significant part of public opinion in Catalonia. But as time has passed, the seams of the juntaires' plan have begun to show.

The harshest criticisms once again come from the independence movement resentful of the process and Puigdemont. That Junts's measure ends up depending on Podemos and the resources of PP and Vox in the Constitutional Court demonstrates the dependence on Spain. Furthermore, they distrust the "comprehensive transfer" and, like ERC's agreement with Rodalies, see another deception by the Government to the process.