The latest agreement between the PSOE and the Catalan independence parties to amend the proposed amnesty law and thus criminally protect Carles Puigdemont and the members of the CDR accused of terrorism has once again raised criticism from one of the biggest opponents of the law. within the PSOE: the president of Castilla-La Mancha, Emiliano García-Page.
And it has provoked the immediate reaction of other party leaders, censoring his words.
This Wednesday, Page showed his disagreement with the distinction “between good terrorism and bad terrorism” that is made in the amnesty law, and has stated that this PSOE pact with Junts is “outside the Constitution”, although he has qualified that his “is not a party that can be doubted constitutionally.”
The Minister of Transport and member of the PSOE executive, Óscar Puente, replied shortly after: “I believe that the person who has been on the outskirts of the Spanish Socialist Workers Party is Mr. García-Page for quite some time.”
During his visit to the Fitur tourism fair in Madrid, the president of Castilla-La Mancha had been asked by journalists about the latest changes to the amnesty law.
“The PSOE is not a party that can be doubted constitutionally.
“He is very clear about what the Constitution is, he is very clear about what the constitutional framework is,” stated Page, who already in September assured that his party had told his voters that the amnesty did not fit into the Basic Law.
And then he added: “We are probably already at the limit, on the outskirts of the Constitution.
We are about to step, let's say, on the constitutional border.
I would like that limit to never be crossed.
The PSOE is an essential party in the constitutional structure of the country.”
The socialist leader has also pointed out that in his opinion "there is no good terrorism and bad terrorism", as he deduces from the proposed amnesty law agreed with Junts and which only excludes from the grace measure the crimes of terrorism that have caused “serious violations of human rights.”
“Terrorism is terrorism.
Terrorism means having the intention to generate terror, and obviously there were many organized people in those days in Catalonia [in reference to the 2019 riots] who wanted to generate social terror.”
For Page, the text represents “an attempt to relativize terrorism.”
Óscar Puente responds to Page after ensuring that the PSOE is "on the outskirts" of the Constitution: "He is the one who has been on the outskirts of the party for quite some time. We are at the center of the Constitution" https://t .co/jLUaecuxlH pic.twitter.com/du8ZLQDUA8
— Europa Press (@europapress) January 24, 2024
The response to Page has come from the socialist ranks themselves.
First, from the number three of the PSOE, Santos Cerdán, who has blurted out directly on the social network X (formerly Twitter): “The problem raised by others is: What is terrorism?
I think the vast majority of us know it and you should know it.”
Then, hours later, Minister Óscar Puente harshly responded to the statement that the socialists had placed themselves “on the outskirts of the Constitution.”
“I believe that the person who has been on the outskirts of the Spanish Socialist Workers Party is Mr. García-Page for quite some time.
We are at the center of the Constitution.”
Regarding the amnesty law for those accused of the
process
, which continues its process in the Cortes, Puente has decided that "it is time to stop talking about this issue and to act."
All terrorism is bad @garciapage.
The problem raised by others is, what is terrorism?
I think the vast majority of us know it and you should know it.https://t.co/2BxIEhc9cP
— Santos Cerdán León (@santicl) January 24, 2024
After the scuffle of statements and responses, Page has spoken to the media again to explain his critical position.
“What I try is to ensure that the concessions we make to the independence movement are as small as possible.
My intention is for the PSOE to govern, but at the lowest possible price,” she said, blaming the
former president
of the Generalitat Carles Puigdemont, of Junts, for wanting “the PSOE to get out of its place.”
“The PSOE is a core party in the Constitution.
What the independentists want is to take us to the outskirts, and what we have to do is avoid it,” said the general secretary of the PSOE of Castilla-La Mancha.
Later, expressly asked about Puente's words, he responded: “My whole life I have spent winning the PP and the right in the elections.
I would care if others did the same: beat the PP.
Whoever wins the right and the extreme right in this country is not in any suburb.
"I win the elections and that's what I do: let's see if I'm going to have to apologize for winning the elections."
Previously, Page had assured: “I am going to get along well with Óscar [Puente] in the square meters and on the highways.”
The echo of the disagreement in the socialist ranks has reached the PP, whose spokesman in Congress, Miguel Tellado, has assured that the PSOE will end up expelling García-Page from the party.
“[García-Page] He has a problem and that is that you cannot say one thing and then do the opposite.
It is the great contradiction in which Mr. Page lives.
He is a member of the Socialist Party and I think they are going to kick him out,” said the popular man in an interview on Cuatro collected by Servimedia.