The Catalan Parliament will debate and vote tomorrow on the investiture of the socialist Salvador Illa

Supporters of Carles Puigdemont threaten suspension if the secessionist is arrested

Armando G. Tejeda

Correspondent

The newspaper La Jornada
Wednesday, August 7, 2024, p. 26

Madrid. Josep Rull, president of the Catalan regional parliament, has called for tomorrow’s debate and vote on the investiture of the socialist Salvador Illa as future president of the government, which will put an end to almost 15 years of nationalist administration in which, among other actions, the failed unilateral secession process of October 2017 was promoted.

If the vote is successful, which will require the support of the Socialist Party of Catalonia, Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC) and En Comú Podem, Illa will become the third Catalan president from the socialist ranks since the restoration of democracy following the fascist dictatorship of Francisco Franco, after Pasquall Maragall and José Montilla.

Tensions are at their highest in Catalonia, especially in the leadership of the pro-independence parties, which are now openly at odds after the May 14 elections, in which the PSC was the most voted party, followed by Junts per Catalunya (JxCat), whose leader, former president Carles Puigdemont, promised to leave active politics if he was not elected at the polls. ERC, which held power, became the third force.

After months of negotiations, the agreement was unblocked thanks to the intervention of the Spanish Prime Minister, the socialist Pedro Sánchez, who included in the pact a comprehensive reform of the Spanish autonomous state that will allow Catalonia to have total fiscal autonomy for the first time, both in terms of tax collection and spending, which will mean it will be outside the common fund of the Spanish public treasury, in which the region represents around 25 percent.

Rull called the investiture debate under the threat of Puigdemont’s return after seven years living between Belgium, Germany and France to avoid being tried in Spanish courts. His return seeks to force the suspension of the plenary session with his foreseeable arrest, since he is still wanted for the crime of embezzlement despite the approval of the general amnesty for Catalan separatist leaders.