The PSOE assures that there is still no agreement on the amnesty, but sees "the investiture being closer" than repeating elections

Although he does not expressly mention the amnesty, Montero emphasizes that it "favors" a "better fit" of Catalonia

MADRID, 25 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The acting Minister of Finance and deputy general secretary of the PSOE, María Jesús Montero, stated this Wednesday that there is still no agreement with the Catalan independence parties for an amnesty for those accused in the 'procés'. However, she has assured that she believes it is closer for Pedro Sánchez to be sworn in as President of the Government again than for a repeat election.

"Nothing has been agreed until all the points are agreed upon," declared Montero, who is part of the PSOE negotiating commission, in an interview on Cadena Ser, collected by Europa Press, when asked if there is already an agreement to the amnesty

Despite this, the minister and 'number two' of the PSOE has indicated that the negotiations with ERC and Junts "continue to advance" within the difficulty that each party has a list "of maximums", but has guaranteed that the details will be known with "transparency" when there is agreement.

"This means that everything acquires coherence when all the pieces of the puzzle are put together and that they cannot be broadcast one by one because none of them is safe until the whole is well fixed. And that is why the discretion," Montero justified to the be questioned by the fact that neither the acting president of the Government nor the second vice president, Yolanda Díaz, accepted questions from journalists at the presentation of the PSOE-Sumar pact to continue governing in coalition.

Montero has defended that discretion allows trust between the parties and avoids "advantageous leaks" that jeopardize the agreement. "The time will come to tell," he added, establishing the PSOE as a loyal, trustworthy negotiator.

The minister, who has not explicitly mentioned the amnesty at any time, did, when asked if it was a measure aimed at improving coexistence in Catalonia, stressed that "it favors a global agreement" to "continue advancing towards the best fit for Catalonia." in Spain" and "overcome the trauma" of "the breakdown of coexistence" in 2017 as a result of the illegal referendum.

He has blamed the situation on "the events that should never have occurred in the 'procés'" and on the fact that years before some articles of the Statute "voted by the Catalans" were declared unconstitutional.

Montero has stressed that Sánchez "has never hidden" nor does he plan to do so, "as Mariano Rajoy did", when facing the Catalan problem, one of the challenges he set as president, he said.

As for whether there are discrepancies between PSOE and Sumar regarding the amnesty, he assured that Díaz has shown Sánchez "absolute willingness to support" the agreements that the socialists are going to propose with Junts, ERC or PNV.

"There is no problem, there will be no difficulty in Sumar supporting those agreements reached with the rest of the political formations," he noted.

Regarding the pact to govern in coalition, Montero has assessed that it is a "good agreement" for a legislature and has assured that he sees the investiture as "closer" than a repeat of the elections. "Without a doubt," he stressed.