Catalan separatist Carles Puigdemont, who is still wanted by the Spanish justice system, has been reinstated as leader of the Together for Catalonia (Junts per Catalunya) party.
At a party meeting on October 27, in Calella, near Barcelona, more than 90 per cent of voters backed Puigdemont. Former member of the Catalan government, Jordi Turull, will serve as secretary general of the Junts party.
“Now is the time to go out and play a new game,” Puigdemont said in a speech delivered via video conference.
“Let’s stop resisting and go on the offensive because a whole country is waiting for us. Long live free Catalonia.”
He said Junts “had to prepare itself better at an organisational and strategic level” and that it must now begin a “stage of openness” to “motivate more people”.
The Junts party only controls the Girona Provincial Council and does not rule in any of the major Catalan cities.
Puigdemont took a swipe at the current President of the Catalonian Government, Salvador Illa, of the Catalan Socialist Party, who has a good relationship with Madrid.
“Those who today remember the legitimacy of the Spanish Government did not respect the legitimacy of the pro-independence government,” Puigdemont said.
According to him, the Socialists have been creating a “suffocating monopoly of a single party in all institutions”.
The Junts have agreed on ideological and organisational issues, including the creation of a think-tank to be lead by outgoing President Laura Borràs.
The party said it planned to be unilateralist if needed, in order to accomplish self-determination.
“We defend the value and effectiveness of the unilateral declaration of independence, so that it is clear to everyone,” Turull said on October 27.
Policy wise, the party said it wanted a fair reduction in a series of taxes and to set up a Catalan Immigration Agency. Members also raised concerns about “national-populism”.
Two years ago, Puigdemont resigned as the official president of the pro-independence party to focus on his responsibilities as an MEP and develop his judicial strategy.
He has been living outside Spain for seven years, effectively on the run from the Spanish police after organising an unauthorised referendum on Catalonian independence, which led to a Constitutional crisis in Spain.
A contentious amnesty statute for separatists participating in the independence attempt was enacted by Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s administration in May. A Supreme Court judge decided that Puigdemont was not eligible for that due to embezzlement charges against him. He is currently awaiting an appeals’ court outcome.
He has resided in Waterloo in Belgium since he left his home country, fighting extradition to Spain. In August this year, he made a surprise visit to Barcelona and then managed to get out of the country again.
In May, he ran in the regional elections from abroad and his party came second.
Separatist parties in Catalonia have been beaten in regional elections, losing a combined 15 seats as Spain's center-right Partido Popular surged. https://t.co/Te6RrP5RWE
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) May 13, 2024
