PSOE attacks the PP but backtracks on pacts

PSOE, the Spanish socialist party, has promised that it will promote stable government and has said that, wherever agreement on content (for this government) exist, it will allow the party to form governments of “progress”. However, where it might not be the first force from the left, it will not form part of such governments.
The party’s federal committee adopted this stance at a meeting at the weekend attended by the national leader, Pedro Sánchez, and various party “barons”, who were analysing the results and consequences of the recent elections. The meeting established guidelines for arriving at coalition agreements, PSOE having been the most voted-for party in only two regions - Asturias and Extremadura (Andalusia’s election was in March) - while aspiring to govern in five others.
PSOE will, according to the committee’s deliberations, conduct negotiations regarding coalitions with “generosity and open-mindedness” and without “impositions or preconceptions”. “It is our duty to make clear from the outset that our goal is not to make pacts at any price. We are looking for agreements that change politics and act with the needs of citizens in mind, not mere distributions of power.” PSOE will commit to facilitating governments where agreement exists, as the “people have decided to reject the politics of the right which have caused them only suffering and inequality”.