Puigdemont attacks the government and demands that it veto BBVA's takeover bid for Banco Sabadell.

The former president defended the Junts councilor at the CNMC who endorsed the merger. "We will pressure to prevent its authorization," proclaimed En Comú, the Sumar representative in Catalonia.

Junts, whose seven deputies are decisive in Congress, and one of the forces that make up Sumar —the Catalan En Comú—made it clear this Sunday that they will go all out to get the government to veto a potential merger between BBVA and Banco Sabadell . Last week, the National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC) unanimously supported the hostile takeover bid presented by the Basque-based bank, albeit with conditions.

The leader of Junts and former president of the Generalitat (Catalan government) between 2016 and 2017, Carles Puigdemont , was very harsh in his criticism of the executive formed by the PSOE and Sumar parties, without whose votes he would not have a majority in the Lower House. "We don't trust the government's words when they say they are against the takeover bid , and we'll see that soon," Puigdemont stated on social media.

For this reason, the pro-independence leader demanded that the government "fulfill what they say." In any case, if the takeover bid is successful, he assured that "the conditions set by the CNMC will provide coverage and protection for SMEs in Catalonia and the Balearic Islands."

This point, precisely, is what, according to Puigdemont, "determined the resignation of the only dissenting vote that could have been cast" in the resolution of the case at the General Assembly. This is Pere Soler , whom Junts appointed to this position. He is a lawyer and was director general of the regional police during the former president's term as head of the Generalitat.

Puigdemont wanted to give his fellow party member a helping hand, asserting that the CNMC's position on the takeover bid in no way depended on the vote of the representative of the neo-Convergents. For this reason, he lamented the emphasis placed on Soler, and not on the decisions of the other representatives of other parties who also "claim to be against the takeover." According to Puigdemont, a double standard is being applied to his party, and he accused his opponents of "mobilizing all available artillery, from left to right," to attack Junts.

Another Catalan party that yesterday pledged to do everything in its power to stop the takeover bid is En Comú Podem , one of the partners in Sumar and which holds a portfolio in the government. It is the Culture portfolio, led by Minister Ernest Urtasun.

"We will pressure to prevent its authorization," said Aina Vidal, the party's leader and Congresswoman, regarding Sumar's position within the executive branch. The parliamentarian defended banking "plurality" and the preservation of all jobs.