The president of Spain's opposition Popular Party (PP), Pablo Casado, claims that Pedro Sánchez will do "whatever suits him best" in relation to the possible granting of pardons to the jailed pro-independence Catalan leaders. This, he says, is because he aims to achieve a new centre-left "tripartite government" in Catalonia after the Catalan elections on 14th February - a three-way alliance between the Catalan Socialists (PSC), Catalunya en Comú and the Catalan Republican Left (ERC).
In a press conference held to sum up the political year, Casado also confirmed that if the government takes this step and releases the pro-independence leaders, his party will fight it in the courts. With the Catalan elections coming up, Casado sent a message to voters supporting pro-Spanish-union options affirming that anyone who "does not want the pro-independence parties to rule, can only vote for the PP", because he takes it for granted that the PSC will form a pact with the pro-independence ERC, as well as the left-wing Comuns.
Translation:
"@PabloCasado highlights the aspects of [Spain's] institutional crisis: deterioration of the international image, the independence movement in Catalonia, whitewashing of [Basque independence party] Bildu, the government's attempt to take over the judiciary and its attacks on the [instutution of the monarchy]."— Partit Popular
The PP will appeal against the pardons if granted
In this regard, the PP leader stated that Sánchez "has made pacts with whoever he wants to" and that he "is comfortable in extremism and radicalism." "If this costs him pardons, and the need to go against the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court - where he will have to go - and against the law of pardons itself, which states that there should be repentance instead of people saying 'We'll do it again", and there must be a mandatory report from the sentencing court, well, it's all the same to him. He'll do whatever he wants," proclaimed Casado.
When asked specifically if he believed the Spanish government had already decided to pardon the pro-independence prisoners, the PP leader replied: "I'm not convinced that the Spanish government wants to pardon the pro-independence prisoners, but I no longer believe anything about this government."
Casado said on Tuesday that the current Spanish government is "the worst in democratic history." “Everything that depends on it has gone wrong,” he said at the press conference today. Casado accused Pedro Sánchez's executive of provoking an "institutional crisis", aggravated by his pacts with Catalan and Basque pro-independence parties. Meanwhile, said the PP leader, the government's reaction to the public health crisis was characterised by "lies, incompetence, and arrogance."