PSOE leader Pedro Sánchez 'agrees with the majority' of Podemos' programme
PSOE leader Pedro Sánchez 'agrees with the majority' of Podemos' programme
SOCIALIST leader Pedro Sánchez admitted he only gave a flat 'no' to two out of 20 points of left-wing Podemos' programme – the composition of the new government, and the 'right to decide' for Catalunya over its independence – in the unsuccessful three-way meeting between the two parties and centre-right Ciudadanos.
“After careful analysis of all the paperwork that you have sent us, we saw that in some of the essential policies, we clearly coincide,” Sánchez wrote to Podemos' leader Pablo Iglesias.
“These include education and health, the fight against corruption and democratic regeneration.”
Sánchez continued that there 'could be around 70% of the remaining points' which 'if they had been able to discuss', they may have reached an agreement on.
“We are only categorically against points 19 and 20, which affect the composition of the government and a referendum on independence,” he concluded.
He added that 'in light of this', it is 'difficult to support the idea that an agreement has not been possible because of the programme', and that this was 'a shame'.
Spokesman Antonio Hernando said the party was 'surprised' to hear Podemos had unilaterally broken off negotiations before receiving the socialists' response to their programme.
“Taking the deal with Ciudadanos into the equation, which we have already said coincides with 140 of Podemos' measures [the Ciudadanos deal covers 200 points], we believed it was possible to work on incorporating new policies for a government of change,” he says.
But Ciudadanos' leader Albert Rivera has flatly refused to change any part of its own deal, even though Podemos admitted it was prepared to bend slightly to try to accommodate the others.
The socialists', or PSOE's own programme includes 17 points, covering a restructure of the tax régime but without increasing income tax for workers or the middle classes; combating tax fraud and evasion and increasing the GDP by 2%; changing labour laws so that temporary job contracts were geared towards an eventual permanent role, and giving Social Security discounts to companies where the majority of the staff are permanent.
