Armengol: follow our lead and form a left-wing coalition

Armengol said yesterday that the agreements for government that had been reached in the Balearics had led to there being a solid and stable administration. The government in the Balearics, she noted, takes decisions through dialogue and from the confrontation between differing ideologies. As such, the pact for government between PSOE and Més with Podemos as supporters is an example to be followed elsewhere.

"We are an example of a form of government that we believe has its returns," she said, pointing to the need for "spaces for dialogue" to be opened in respect of a national government that would be headed by PSOE's Pedro Sánchez and which, because of its plurality, was what the electorate had opted for.

"From PSOE in the Balearics we will be working to try and help Spain to come to the necessary agreements for a progressive government (of the left), which we need in order to give us air to breathe."

In order for a new government to be formed, there have to be, in her words, "generous attitudes" and she reiterated her stance in favour of constitutional reform  so that Catalonia can remain part of Spain and not go down the route of a referendum. This latter issue is one that is making any agreement with Pablo Iglesias and Podemos at national level difficult: Podemos wants there to be a referendum, but it is a position which isn't shared by the other main political forces as well by some minor ones.

"I ask that it be understood that we have a highly complex political situation, but a government which acts is needed. I am concerned that there isn't the power to shape a progressive government with the greatest speed possible."

In this regard she referred to the consequences for Balearic needs from a delay in forming a new government.

Armengol stressed her opposition to a possible pact with the PP. This would "cheat" the electorate, who had voted for change. With Podemos, on the other hand, there is much in common with policies of the left that, in her opinion, Spain needs.

At present, the impasse regarding the forming of a new government seems no nearer being resolved. A pact between PSOE, the PP and the C's (Ciudadanos) is one possibility but one that Armengol is rejecting. In the Balearics, meanwhile, the outcome of negotiations for government may have an influence on the current arrangements for government in the Balearics.