In a press conference focused on summing up the year and presenting the latest package of measures for inflation and the war in Ukraine, Pedro Sánchez also devoted part of his speech to analyzing the situation in Catalonia, as well as to the call made on Monday by Catalan president Pere Aragonès for a clear agreement on a new independence referendum, agreed with the Spanish state. Regarding this demand, which Aragonès raised in his own end-of-year speech, the Spanish PM once again ignored requests to hold a consultation to resolve the political future of Catalonia and affirmed that this is a debate of the past, from 2017: "In the Spanish Constitution there is no right to independence. Neither in Spain nor in any constitution in the world. From here, they can claim what they want, but it will not happen."
In addition, amid criticism of the opposition People's Party (PP) for withholding its support in everything surrounding the political conflict with Catalonia, when five years ago the situation was the opposite, Sánchez took heart from the fact that, today, "the Constitution is respected in all territories", also in Catalonia, and that under his Socialist-Unidas Podemos government, "independence is no longer a concern for Spaniards". In short, Sánchez reiterates his line that the Catalan independence process is over, since "the majority of Catalans are committed to coexistence, to living together". An idea that, as he himself explained, he took from a pro-independence leader, former Junts general secretary Jordi Sànchez: "That the process has ended is not my statement, but his. It was Jordi Sànchez, when the [Catalan] government coalition collapsed, who said that the process was over."
"In Catalonia, the Constitution is complied with and the PP violates it"
Thus, Pedro Sánchez used his year-end press conference to brag about his administration's management of the political crisis over the future of Catalonia, which he is convinced has been resolved even though the Catalan government continues to demand a referendum. In addition, he compared his management with that carried out by the PP in previous years, whom he points out as directly responsible for the situation, together with the independence movement: "Some because of their irresponsibility, but also because of the incapacity of others who used to be here and who are now giving lessons about I don't know quite what", replied Sánchez in reference to the PP at a time when the relationship between the government and the opposition is more tense than ever.
"If this debate demonstrates anything, it is the different ways of resolving the political conflict. Today, when someone goes around Catalonia, the situation is not the same as in 2017. Today, in Catalonia the constitution is being complied with, and it is the PP who is violating it. Catalans have the same concerns as the rest of their compatriots," Sánchez continued, while assessing the dialogue table. This, in his opinion, has proven to be "a useful tool", since in it both one party and the other are obliged to listen, and the Spanish government has always reiterated the same idea: "Respect for the constitution and national sovereignty".