Jordi Juan, 12 July 2024
La Vanguardia Director
Image: Marta Rovira on the return trip Jordi Borràs / ACN
The return of Marta Rovira to Catalonia is good news and is another step towards the pacification of Catalan political life. I wish she had been accompanied on this trip by Carles Puigdemont, Antoni Comín and Lluís Puig, but this has not been possible because, despite the entry into force of the Amnesty law, their freedom in Catalonia is not guaranteed by legal interpretation of the Supreme Court. The three must wait to receive another, more benign reading of the Constitution, to be able to return without risk of being brought to justice.
In the history of this long political conflict between the central government and the Government of the Generalitat, crucial errors have been made by both sides at key moments that have further complicated the solution to the problem. Now that the country is close to normalization, the criminal situation of these three independence leaders threatens to open a new front and shake this climate of greater tranquility. Thus, Puigdemont’s entourage has been announcing his presence at the investiture session of the next president in Parliament for weeks, despite the risk of being arrested. The leader of Junts has always proudly defended that he has never set foot in a Spanish prison and that he has done so to protect the honor of the presidency of the Generalitat. However, now it seems that he has changed his mind after the Supreme Court judges’ decision. Puigdemont is aware that his arrest would have a great political repercussion and that the consequences would go against the pacification process that the Government of Pedro Sánchez is attempting. It is a complete challenge.
In the background context, evidently, lies the negotiation between the PSC and ERC that could facilitate the investiture of Salvador Illa and that would leave Puigdemont in a secondary position in Catalan political life. The temptation to kick the board and try to return to a climate of confrontation like the one registered in 2017 is great. Puigdemont must think carefully about the consequences for him and assess to what extent the response of Catalan society today can be the same as it was at the beginning of the process. He has to act with a cool head.
https://www.lavanguardia.com/opinion/20240712/9801758/dilema-puigdemont.html
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