Spanish president wants to resume dialogue with Catalonia in July

The president of the Spanish government, Pedro Sánchez, says he wants to resume dialogue with Catalonia in July as promised, but warns that he feels "electoral noise" surrounding the dialogue table. 

Sánchez pointed this out in an interview with the newspaper 'La Vanguardia' published on Sunday, where he reiterates that the way out of the Catalan conflict is through "dialogue, political agreement, and electoral referendum." 

When asked about the possibility of pardoning pro-independence leaders serving prison sentences of between 9-13 years for sedition, Sanchez noted that "the measures of pardon are perfectly defined in the jurisdiction."

On the other hand, the Spanish president has also stated that the health crisis has not caused division among members of his government, but rather "united them." 

In this sense, the Spanish president acknowledges that they are two projects with "completely different" political cultures but says that during the management of the crisis he has felt "an absolute and extraordinary loyalty among all members" of the executive, which is made up of a coalition between his Socialist party and the left-wing Podemos. 

Sanchez regrets that some formations have used the pandemic to damage the government, pointing the finger at the right-wing People’s Party, whom he accuses of "undermining the state." 

"It is inappropriate for a party that has a sense of state," he criticized, adding "the strategy of harassment of the right in government has failed."

On the other hand, in relation to pulling the country out of the coronavirus crisis, Sánchez believes that "more income is needed" because the effort cannot be "sustained in the medium term."