“There is a time for punishment and a time for harmony.” In May 2021, Pedro Sánchez paved the granting of pardons to the pro-independence prisoners imprisoned by the procés, influencing these two concepts for days. And although the situation in Catalonia is very different from that of recent years, almost a year and a half after the clemency was granted, a majority of Spaniards believe that this government decision has not helped improve relations between the Catalan territory and the rest of Spain.
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In any case, there are more who consider that, although the pardons in particular did not help, relations have improved during the legislature, compared to those who maintain that they have gotten worse. And 37% say they have not noticed any changes.
The data is extracted from the latest survey carried out by Simple Lógica for elDiario.es, which on this occasion has tested the opinion of Spaniards on pardons one year and five months after they were granted by the Government. It was on June 21, 2021 when the Executive approved the partial pardon of the sentences of those convicted of 1-O, which meant the immediate release of the nine pro-independence prisoners from prison.
The Simple Lógica poll reveals, first of all, that a majority of those surveyed are against granting pardons to sentenced Catalan politicians. 22% say that the pardon seemed bad to them and 34% that it was very bad; only 30% support the decision (9% see it very well and 21%, well).
Opinions on this question vary enormously depending on the voting intention of those surveyed for the next general election. Those who opt for the right are overwhelmingly against it, while support on the left is not unanimous: among PSOE voters it is on the verge of 50% and among those of United We Can it reaches 66%.
“Getting these nine people out of jail, who represent thousands of Catalans, is a resounding message of the desire for harmony and coexistence,” said Pedro Sánchez shortly before signing the pardons, which meant getting the convicted after four years in jail.
Three months later, the first Dialogue Table was held between the Government and the Generalitat. But the relationship during these months has not been easy. The most tense moment was experienced with the outbreak of the scandal over the espionage of pro-independence leaders, including the president, Pere Aragonès, through the Pegasus system, a software that, in principle, is only available to governments. With the waters already calm, the first two agreements between PSOE and ERC were closed: one “to overcome judicialization and reinforce guarantees” and another “for the protection and promotion of the Catalan language”.
In Moncloa they recognize that there has been no progress in the legal reforms committed to taking steps in what the ERC calls the “anti-repression agenda” and that in the joint statement it was called “dejudicialization”. It is in that package that the reform of the crime of sedition is found to reduce penalties, which the Government has put in the freezer for the moment. But the Republicans also aspire to improvements in the conditions of dozens of positions involved in the procés. What government sources do point out is that the agreement regarding the Catalan language has been fulfilled and that it happens, fundamentally, by desisting from presenting an appeal to the Constitutional Court for the law on Catalan in schools.
No influence of pardons
Among those surveyed by Simple Lógica, a minority think that this climate of dialogue is caused by the decision to grant pardons. Only 30% affirm that this decision has contributed to improving relations with the rest of the State, 12% do not know or do not answer and a majority, 58%, do not believe that they will help.
Again, especially among Vox voters but also PP voters, those who do not believe that pardons will help are an overwhelming majority. And also in this case on the left the percentages change depending on the party. In the PSOE those who believe that they helped are the majority, but they do not reach 50% either. In United We Can they represent 66%, with almost one in three on the side of those who consider that the pardons did not help.
The percentages vary when asked if, beyond the pardons, there is a general perception that the political situation in Catalonia and its relationship with the rest of Spain has changed throughout this legislature. In this case, 37% think that it remains as it was, but the majority perceive an improvement compared to those who judge that it has gotten worse.
31% of citizens believe that things have gotten better – 6% indicate that it has improved a lot and 25% that it has improved somewhat – compared to 23% who maintain that it has gotten worse – 13% consider that it has worsened somewhat and 10% indicate that it has gotten much worse.
Once again, United We Can is the most optimistic party, although this time the PSOE voters who believe that relations with Catalonia have improved do exceed 50%. On the right, the unity of the previous questions is broken: the PP voters who believe that things have improved are more than double those of Vox, and those who believe that they have gotten worse are almost half than those of the party. far right.
