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Junts Doubles Down on Break With Sánchez as Moncloa Weighs Catalonia-Focused Budget Play

With Junts vowing not to return, the fate of the 2026 budget becomes the lever shaping parties’ timing and alliances.

Overview

  • Juntsdeputy spokesperson Josep Maria Cruset said there is no going back and warned they will block the government’s initiatives, accusing Pedro Sánchez of acting like an “ostrich” in a radio interview.
  • Government sources are preparing 2026 accounts with sizable Catalonia investments — highlighted by Rodalies and local projects — to raise the political cost of a Junts veto, with presentation pushed into 2026 because of the December 21 Extremadura election and a year‑end budget extension.
  • The PP will fast‑track votes on its agenda — including IRPF deflation, lower food VAT, tougher anti‑squatting measures, longer nuclear plant life and housing — seek alignments with Vox and Junts, and table laws to guarantee pension revaluation under a budget rollover and to force elections after two consecutive years without new budgets.
  • IU leader Antonio Maíllo urges accelerating a unitary left candidacy for the coming electoral cycle and backs sending the 2026 Budget to Congress even without secured support, arguing a defeat need not trigger dissolution.
  • Junts sources contend Sánchez and Catalan leader Salvador Illa could coordinate simultaneous national and Catalan early elections in mid‑2026, a scenario reported as their concern rather than a confirmed plan.