The amnesty warms up the final stretch of the Galician campaign

Feijóo’s unique ineptitude causes the socialists to stumble even more: sneaking the issue of amnesty into the final stretch of the Galician campaign. Sánchez and his team did not want to mention it before the count on Sunday. However, with the PP’s alleged willingness to pardon the coup plotters (“if they promise not to repeat it, we would talk about reconciliation”), they have brought it to an end…

Big mistake, as the mere mention of his alliance with the independence movement to fulfill the boss’s ambitions, even just suggesting that Feijóo would have done the same if Junts had agreed to a similar exchange (pardon for investiture), is like mentioning the noose in the hangman’s house. Or better yet, like mentioning the elephant in the PSOE room, which is the amnesty.

The PP has been the most interested in stirring up the issue. Therefore, the controversy over what Feijóo said or didn’t say harms the socialist candidate, Gómez Besteiro, without affecting Alfonso Rueda’s expectations. Nevertheless, I wouldn’t rule out that the controversy over the weekend would further boost the nationalist left of Ana Pontón (BNG) at the expense of the non-nationalist left of Gómez Besteiro (PSdeG)…

Feijóo emphasizes too much when he denounces those who want to “muddy up the campaign.” With everything we’ve seen and heard so far on both sides of the barricade since July 23, he didn’t need to convince us of his well-documented stance of no to amnesty and pardons, while simultaneously supporting judicial action against those responsible for the process, who may have committed acts of terrorism, treason, or embezzlement.

So loud is the great national issue hanging over the outcome of February 18th in the form of a dilemma: either the fifth absolute majority for the PP or a Galician-style Frankenstein coalition (BNG-PSOE-Sumar-Podemos) with the nationalists as the dominant force in the equation.

Hence, a cautious Alfonso Rueda avoids debates and refrains from making missteps. His focus is on the argument. For instance: “We Galicians do not want models that are causing tension in Spain.” Not a single word about amnesty from Sánchez and his ministers…

On the other hand, the opposition leader has been and remains omnipresent in his homeland with a speech unequivocally opposed to an amnesty that is incompatible with equality, legal security, and the separation of powers. Núñez Feijóo didn’t need to be so casual when saying, “Sánchez sticks to opportunism, and I stick to my principles.”

We enter the final week of the campaign, the week of the carnival, with no substantial changes on the board, disregarding the rise of the BNG in the triad led by the PP and protected by the high 5% minimum threshold required to enter the distribution of seats.

The votes that the PP could lose to Vox or DO (Ourensana Democracy) will always be less than the votes that the PSdeG-PSOE could lose to the BNG, Sumar, or Podemos. Furthermore, the potential entry of Sumar into Parliament with a deputy would not alter the political landscape, as it would not come at the expense of votes from the right…