After weeks of not picking up the phone, Pedro Sánchez has changed his stance. The acting prime minister will next week call Catalan president Quim Torra, likewise the presidents of the other autonomous communities, as part of the talks for his investiture. He made the announcement after the king charged him with trying to form a government. It follows talk starting in negotiations between PSOE and ERC of "mutual institutional recognition". He called for discretion towards those discussions, but thanked ERC for their "attitude".
Speaking to press after returning from the Zarzuela palace, he also announced that on Monday he will meet with both PP's Pablo Casado and Ciudadanos's Inés Arrimadas in the Congress. Similarly, his party's spokesperson there, Adriana Lastra, will meet "with all the political parties to see if we can find a parliamentary majority". Government sources say that "all is all", which would include, for example, Vox, CUP and EH Bildu.
Regarding his planned calls with the autonomous community presidents, Sánchez said this was "to share the desire of the majority of the Spanish people to be able to count on a government as soon as possible which can offer proposals and solution to many problems". Such a round of talks, however, is unheard of, as it would normally take place after a prime minister has been invested.