Right-wing unionists consider Puigdemont's post-election proposal 'blackmail'

Being "ready for a new Spanish election, but also for talks for a historic agreement" will not be an easy task for former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont. The speech given on Tuesday in Brussels was aimed at Spanish political parties after July's vote left a hung parliament. 

Following the speech from the current Junts MEP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, the leader of the conservative PP who is attempting to become the next Spanish PM, said that the request for an amnesty of pro-independence figures was completely "unacceptable and impossible."

"Puigdemont is asking for there to be no equality between citizens when facing the law, and to benefit those who did not comply with it," Feijóo said from the Spanish congress. He is currently meeting with other parties in attempt to gain enough support ahead of the vote to name the next PM.

One of these meetings will be with Junts, but if they plan on asking for an amnesty, the meeting should not take place, Feijóo said, as the negotiation will not be a place for "blackmail nor auctions."

Far-right Vox has a similar point of view as the conservatives. For them, Puigdemont's requests are the "demands of a criminal and a fugitive from justice" who acts as "a blackmailer," leader Santiago Abascal said.

Vox plans to back Feijóo's prime ministerial bid as "an alternative to the shameful acts of the Catalan pro-independence figures auctioning Spain without any consequences."

The leader of the liberal Ciudadanos party in the Catalan parliament, Carlos Carrizosa, also considered Puigdemont's requests "a new blackmail against democracy."

Moncloa: open for dialogue

The Spanish government, led by the Socialists and left-wing Unidas Podemos, welcomed Puigdemont's speech, describing it as an "open door for dialogue."

The coalition parties, hoping to stay for another term after July's election, will be "discreet" regarding the negotiation that will only take place "within the framework of the Spanish constitution," sources from the executive told the Catalan News Agency (ACN).

If no agreement is reached, Feijóo will fall short of obtaining the required support to become the next Spanish PM. It will be then when acting PM Pedro Sánchez will start negotiating with other groups, such as Junts and Esquerra Republicana.

Although the requests were made public by Puigdemont, the current Spanish government will not meet with the leader yet and confirmed that Yolanda Díaz's visit to Brussels on Monday was as the leader of the left-wing coalition of Sumar and not as acting deputy prime minister.

Díaz's meeting with Carles Puigdemont was the first time a high-ranking representative of the Spanish government met with the Catalan leader in Belgium since he left Spain in October 2017 after the independence referendum that was deemed illegal.

Catalan government backs proposal

The Catalan government, led by pro-independence Esquerra Republicana, is "almost 100%" in agreement with Puigdemont's requests, as the spokesperson Patrícia Plaja announced on Tuesday after the weekly cabinet meeting.

The plans proposed by the former leader of Junts are "almost identical" to the ones the government shares and "coincide with those suggested by the Catalan president Pere Aragonès from day one," she added.