The Spanish government has downplayed the expectations for the meeting between Pedro Sánchez and Quim Torra so much that it will really be a surprise if anything positive comes from this Thursday's appointment. And really, this is just what shouldn't happen: there is too much at stake for the Socialist leader to practice the usual strategy of Spanish prime ministers with Catalan presidents, which is none other than stretching things out and avoiding specifics or commitments.
It is obvious that Sánchez is attending the meeting with Torra because he is forced to by the circumstances. To put it in a colloquial fashion, because he's been dragged to it kicking and screaming. He is not precisely Torra's biggest fan, and nor does he intend to take on board any of his proposals such as an independence referendum, recognition of the right to self-determination, or an amnesty for the political prisoners. Torra scarcely has a better opinion of Sánchez, his shifting opinions and his permanent tactical approach. They are, therefore, tied in the equally terrible regard in which they hold each other.
In this climate they will have their third meeting since the Socialist leader arrived at the Moncloa palace by winning a no confidence motion against the previous PP government, in June 2018. It could be a key moment for the future of the Spanish legislature, since Sánchez cannot risk losing the parliamentary support of the Catalan Republican Left, with whom he agreed to set up a table of dialogue and negotiation between governments. A written commitment which the Spanish government has already violated and does not seem to want to schedule as was agreed or give the importance that it deserves.
In the hours leading up to the meeting, Sánchez's plans while in Barcelona on Thursday and Friday have been gradually leaked, as well as the sheer number of meetings he will have. City council, provincial council, unions, employers and political party. Ninety minutes for each, the corresponding photos and an image of a president who listens to Catalan society. Strangely enough, the president of the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, Joan Canadell, the most uncomfortable of them all, has dropped off the list. Of course, Sánchez will not be talking with the political prisoners. And this, when his political future depends on Lledoners jail. In essence, politics like the flight of a chicken.