Zapatero repeats with the amnesty the strategy against 'let Txapote vote for you': pedagogy against the wear and tear that they fear within the PSOE

“Discretion”, “patience” and “prudence”. These are the maxims that guide the PSOE in the negotiation on the amnesty with the Catalan independentists of Junts and ERC. The agreement is not yet closed, “we have to work”, there is not even complete certainty that there will finally be an agreement. “The negotiation is complex,” say those who are in the know, and this prevents the socialist leaders from undertaking the pedagogy campaign they had planned to digest, both internally and socially, the forgiveness of the process.. In this scenario, as happened in the last two electoral campaigns, in the face of the attacks and the attrition campaign of the PP, the figure of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero emerges, as the spearhead and shield of the PSOE and Pedro Sánchez.

The former president of the Government acts as a rodela, once again, in a difficult situation for the PSOE. He already did it in the regional and general campaign, defending the political action of the PSOE, its measures; drawing Feijóo as “a lie with legs”; and countering the “Let Txapote vote for you!” brandishing the end of ETA as a socialist achievement. He rolled up his sleeves and went down into the mud, something that served to spur the spirit of the party and mobilize its bases, as seen in the many rallies he participated in.. His figure acquired such prominence that he even piloted a kind of parallel campaign. Now he is once again on the front line, arguing that the amnesty “is not unconstitutional,” as declared this Monday on Carlos Alsina's Más de uno program on Onda Cero, despite the great legal debate open on the matter, and that “if we have to change “You change your mind,” alluding to the fact that until three months ago the PSOE considered the amnesty unconstitutional.

«Zapatero is a very important figure. “It has been, it is and it will be,” government sources concede.. And it is not only for the socialists, but also for the Catalan independentists who hold him in very high regard and consider him an important actor to take into account in this process.. However, sources familiar with the amnesty negotiation state that, at least as of today, he has not intervened in that dialogue.

Zapatero versus González

“He is a key asset”, “he is a reference”, “he is in a state of grace”, describe socialist leaders consulted by EL MUNDO, who contrast his “loyalty” with the attitude of another former president like Felipe González.. “It's an example”.

The delay in the agreement with Junts and ERC on the amnesty, added to the fact that there are no full guarantees regarding an agreement, has created concern in sectors of the PSOE due to the wear and tear of these weeks. Not having closed the pact, the lack of a black on white proposal, prevents the socialists from a campaign to counteract criticism and censorship from the opposition. A void that Alberto Núñez Feijóo seeks to take advantage of. In the socialist formation they knew that “very noisy” weeks were coming and that is why there are leaders who believe that it would have been appropriate “for everyone to talk much more.”. It happens that only a few people who report directly to Sánchez have information. Therefore, even if they wanted to, many could not. Hence, in the party they believe what Zapatero does is important: saying and doing what many cannot.

There have been attempts, without this work of explanation and pedagogy having been fully developed.. Because, to begin with, both the ministers and Sánchez avoid the word amnesty. Yes, it was pronounced once by the acting President of the Government, within the framework of the European summit in Granada and escorted by the representatives of the European institutions.. To date, the largest didactic exercise carried out: “It is still a way of trying to overcome the judicial consequences of the situation that occurred in Spain with one of the worst territorial crises we have experienced.”

Socialist officials and leaders consulted by this newspaper admit that this waiting period and silence entail a “risk at the media and social level” for not contrasting precise arguments and, above all, expressing that everything is done “within the framework of the Constitution.”. The one who is clear about his position is Emiliano García-Page. The president of Castilla-La warned yesterday that an amnesty law as a bargaining chip for a Sánchez investiture will bring in Spain “inequalities” whose bill will be paid by “next generations”, a scenario in which he asked “not to trivialize.”