Spanish king Felipe VI would now be prepared to negotiate with pro-independence parties, the speaker of the Balearic Islands Parliament, Baltasar Picornell, has said. The speaker had an audience with the monarch in Palma de Mallorca today whom he says is "trying to speak with the parties who are really prepared to build bridges".
According to Picornell, they spoke about the need to "build bridges" with Catalonia and to negotiate to unblock the current situation. The king, however, apparently said it "is very difficult" because "there are parties which are more reticent and parties which are more open to dialogue".
The king met today with different Mallorcan authorities, starting with the president of the Balearic Islands, Francina Armengol, who spoke positively to the king of the "improvement in institutional understanding fostered by the change of the Spanish government and the success of the management of the opening of the gardens of the Marivent palace".
He also met with the speaker of the Mallorcan Council, Miquel Ensenyat and the mayor of Palma, Antoni Noguera.