The die is cast, by Rosa Paz

Nobody doubts of the power that Pedro Sánchez has in the PSOE after having won overwhelmingly, and against the odds, two primary elections, the second of them with the old socialist Sanhedrin organized against him. However, the socialist leader, who for the first time has argued in public the reasons for the amnesty for those accused of the ‘procés’, once again asks the militancy for a gesture of confidence. Furthermore, it demands to leave your hands free to agree with Carles Puigdemont on whatever is necessary to remain in the Government. Making a virtue of necessity is the key. And the need, he does not hide it, is not to give “Feijóo and Abascal a second chance”, that is, to avoid an electoral repetition. The virtue would lie in his explanation that the amnesty is a way to defend “coexistence between Spaniards.”

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It is very likely that the result of the internal consultation that gives him the blank check to agree on his re-election with the parties that are necessary, be it overwhelmingly favorable. No more criticism than expected was heard in the federal committee. So you could say that the die is cast and that the investiture is just around the corner.

However, neither the support of the militants nor the ratification in a few days of Sánchez as president will eliminate the later difficulties not only to govern with such a heterogeneous group of allies and with such volatile opinions, but also to convince citizens of the benefits of this supervening measure of grace. A lot of pedagogy will be needed, They say in Moncloa, and, yes, They will also need a lot of luck. It will not be easy to persuade those who live beyond the Ebro, but nor will it be easy to persuade a prominent sector of the socialist electorate in Catalonia, despite the fact that the president has assured, in very precise words, that “the representatives of more than 80% of Catalans support this measure. There are significant precedents for Sánchez’s bravery and baraka. It remains to be seen if luck is with him on this occasion as well.

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