PP shifts position on amnesty law and considers conditional pardon for Puigdemont

The conservative People's Party (PP) has changed its stance on the amnesty law and now believes that a conditional pardon could be offered to former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont and others in the independence movement if they show remorse and turn themselves in to Spanish justice.

Although the PP has always been very critical of the amnesty law agreed between Spain's Socialist-led government and the Catalan pro-independence parties Junts and Esquerra, top PP sources proposed on Saturday an alternative to the current amnesty law being processed in the Spanish Congress.

PP leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, had, until now, always opposed a pardon for Puigdemont, but party sources believe that a pardon could be approved as long as Puigdemont and the others accused face the Spanish courts and express regret for the events of 2017, with an explicit commitment not to repeat them.

The party has also admitted to holding talks with Junts after the July 23 elections, in which the PP won the most seats but fell short of a majority. They said they studied an amnesty for Puigdemont "for 24 hours," but the legal team rejected it as unconstitutional and the talks ended.

The PP's shift contradicts its fierce opposition to the amnesty law, which it has tried to actively block in the Senate and harshly criticized during debates in Congress.

Feijóo reiterates anti-amnesty stance

The day after the revelations, the PP leader clarified his position, saying that he had always opposed the amnesty bill and that he would continue to advocate a "total investigation" of the independence movement.  

"I have said and will say no to any amnesty, because none of the possible conditions are met," he told media during the PP campaign in Galicia for the upcoming regional elections next Sunday, in which the PP could lose its absolute majority, according to polls.

Feijóo added that "any act of alleged terrorism and any alleged connection between the independence movement and the Putin regime" should be investigated by the courts.

Junts: Nothing more to say

On Monday, Junts party spokesperson said they had "nothing more to say" about their meetings with the PP. 

"We already said what we had to say about the meetings with the PP. If we have to add something, we will add it," said Josep Rius in response to several questions put to him at a press conference. 

"Junts is a party that talks to everyone, except [far-right] Vox," Rius said. 

The spokesperson also made reference to a letter Puigdemont wrote to fellow MEPs, where he said that "the truth will be known." 

Pro-independence Esquerra (ERC) said the PP's position on the amnesty was a "smokescreen" to cover up negotiations with Junts to support Feijóo's PM bid.

ERC spokesperson, Raquel Sans, said there should be "transparency" regarding the summer negotiations between PP and Junts. 

Criticism from Socialists after revelations

Spanish government spokesperson Pilar Alegría said that the PP was "speaking now because they are afraid that Junts will reveal the truth."

In the same vein, former Socialist PM José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero accused Feijóo of "hypocrisy" and "deception," saying that after Puigdemont's warning that "everything will be known," the PP is now facing "turbulence."

The Spanish Minister of Transport, Oscar Puente, said that he knew "time would prove them right," but "did not expect Feijóo to admit it so soon, and the Minister of the Presidency and Justice, Félix Bolaños, called on the PP to apologize for "the nonsense they have been saying."

Èlia Tortolero of the Catalan Socialists said: "The politics of rapprochement isn't achieved by speaking of pardons in secret, spending 24 hours negotiating an amnesty, and then making incendiary speeches."