This is an important change for politics in Catalonia.

The independence leader Carles Puigdemont, the main figure in the region's secession attempt in 2017, was replaced on Saturday at the head of his party by a tandem including a representative of the hard wing, Laura Borràs.

"This is my last (congress) as president," he told activists from Junts per Catalunya (Together for Catalonia), gathered in Argelès-sur-Mer, a French coastal town near the border. with Spain.

"Organizations must be able and know how to make replacements," added Carles Puigdemont, 59.

The separatist leader had announced at the beginning of May that he would not run again at the head of his formation because it needed, according to him, “a more involved presidency” than that which he could offer.

Escape to Belgium

At the head of the Catalan regional government during the October 2017 secession attempt, he fled shortly after to Belgium, where he has been installed for almost five years, in order to escape prosecution from Spanish justice.

On the other hand, the Court of the EU has just restored his MEP immunity at the end of May, which had been lifted by the European Parliament, but the separatist leader is still waiting for European justice to rule on the merits of this very complex file.

Catalonia was the scene in 2017 of one of the worst crises experienced by Spain since the end of the Franco dictatorship in 1975. The separatists then organized a self-determination referendum despite its ban by Spanish justice before declaring unilaterally the independence of the region.

Nine separatist leaders were sentenced in 2019 to up to 13 years in prison for their role in this secession attempt.

The leftist Spanish government decided to pardon them last year, in the name of “reconciliation”.

A third party in the last regional

Jordi Turull, who was officially appointed as the new general secretary of Junts on Saturday, was one of the imprisoned leaders.

He will form a tandem at the head of the party with the president of the Catalan regional parliament Laura Borràs, representative of the hard wing, who for her part took the presidency of the party in place of Carles Puigdemont.

Coming third in the regional elections last year, this formation is a member of the separatist regional government chaired by the other major independence party, ERC (Republican Left of Catalonia).

The tensions between these two parties are constant, Junts being very critical of the dialogue with the central government undertaken by ERC, central government support to the Spanish Parliament.

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