“This wouldn’t happen, right. We wouldn’t make unacceptable concessions.” This is how the Deputy Secretary General of Autonomous and Municipal Policy of the PP responded, Elias Bendodo, to the letter that the former president and now Junts MEP, Carles Puigdemontsent to the rest of the MEPs of the European Parliament assuring that if his party had made Alberto Núñez Feijóo, He would not be investigated for a crime of terrorism nor would the door be opened to do so for high treason. “Separatism yesterday said that if Feijóo were the President of the Government this would not happen, true, true, this would not happen,” he stated at a press conference in Barcelona and, after several questions, explained that he meant that he would not do “unacceptable concessions”, referring to the amnesty law.
Furthermore, accompanied by the president of the party in Catalonia, Alejandro Fernandezand also the leader of the municipal group, Daniel Sirera, Bendodo has had to respond again to speculation about the contacts they had with the post-convergents after the amnesty. The popular has defended the “ability” of the current leadership of the popular to “talk to everyone”, something that he considers to be within “normality”, but has made a distinction between “talking”, “negotiating”, “agree” and “give in”, four steps that he considers have nothing to do with each other. “We have come to talk,” he acknowledged before Sirera, who met – and has already been recognized by both parties – during the month of August with the leaders of Junts. Josep Rius and Albert Batet.
“It is within normality that two people from the city council. If there have been other leaders in other city councils or parliaments who have spoken, they must be framed within political normality,” he maintained without denying that Sirera’s was the only contact – without want to quantify them -, although he has assured that he has no “knowledge” that any of these were with Carles Puigdemont himself or the general secretary of Junts, Jordi Turull. Asked specifically if he fears that Puigdemont will make these alleged contacts public – in his letter he hinted that they would talk about it when he played -, Bendodo came forward alleging that they have “nothing to hide.”
Candidate for the Generalitat
On the other hand, the deputy secretary of the PP has avoided confirming Alejandro Fernández as the next PP candidate for the Generalitat of Catalonia, despite sharing a lectern with him. In response to questions from the press, the deputy national secretary of the Popular Party has alleged that the Catalan elections have not yet been called and that they are now “focused on the Galician elections” and with this year’s electoral calendar, which also passes through the Basque Country and the European Parliament. “The organic issue will be addressed in due course,” he responded, avoiding setting a specific date for the celebration of the party congress to decide the autonomous leadership of the party and the next candidate for the elections, which has been postponed for more than a year. “It will be addressed in due course, there will be time, there are no dates,” he said.
For his part, Fernández was asked if he wanted to continue as a candidate, the current leader of the popular Catalans called it “childish” and “shabby” to talk about him now, when there are problems such as “the drought or the agriculture”. “The other thing will come and I will speak out,” he stated, after a press conference that brought together national, regional and municipal leadership; something that seemed unthinkable just a few months ago, with the internal war still very latent. However, However, the tension has been palpable over contacts with Junts – something that Fernández openly criticized – and over his future as leader in Catalonia.