The early Catalan election has disrupted Carles Puigdemont’s initial plans. He himself acknowledged it yesterday in his first reaction from Strasbourg. The former president was going to be the Junts per Catalunya candidate in the European elections in June and now, in his party, everyone is pointing to him as the head of the JxCat list in the Parliamentary elections on May 12.
The decision has not yet been made, but the general secretary of the party, Jordi Turull, acknowledged this Thursday in a radio interview that it would be “strange” for Puigdemont to be a candidate on both electoral lists, especially if Junts’ idea is to “go to for all” in the 12-M elections.
“A decision has to be made, and when you go all out on something, you go all out,” said the post-convergent leader, although he has made it clear at all times that those decisions have to be made and announced by Puigdemont himself.
The former president was asked yesterday just after the appearance of President Pere Aragonès if he could combine both candidacies, to which he responded that he believed not. Likewise, he admitted that the electoral call affects his “initial forecast.” Legally, it is viable to be a candidate in both elections, although it would not be compatible to be a representative of both chambers and you would have to opt for one or the other.
The European elections are on June 9 and the XV legislature of the Parliament will already be underway that day, since the deadline for the constitution of the Catalan Chamber is June 7. In any case, you can be a regional deputy and later renounce the record to be a European parliamentarian.
In the former president’s initial forecast, according to consulted sources, returning to Catalonia was not included until next autumn, at the earliest. It has always been said from those around him that he preferred to wait for the amnesty that the Congress of Deputies approves today and that will come into force at the end of May or beginning of June to apply to street citizens before returning. The elections were not scheduled until next fall or early 2025 at the earliest, so Puigdemont did not have to make any decision about running for president of the Generalitat.
Likewise, the former president had planned that his return would be within the framework of the Consell of the Republic and not as leader of Junts, thus trying to evoke the figure of the “president in exile.” Now, with the electoral horizon, that scenario is complicated. In JxCat there are those who read in the electoral preview an attempt to leave Puigdemont out of the game.
