Puigdemont rules out return for the campaign and Nogueras will lead Junts on 29-N

The former president of the Generalitat celebrates the amnesty from Waterloo but avoids setting a date for his return. Sources from Junts state that it will be Míriam Nogueras who will take on the weight of the electoral campaign.

Carles Puigdemont will remain in Belgium at least until after the general elections on 29-N. Sources from Junts consulted by the newspaper El Mundo dismiss an immediate return of the former president of the Generalitat and identify the spokesperson in Congress, Míriam Nogueras, as the person who will carry the weight of the electoral campaign.

The decision comes after the Constitutional Court supported the leaders of the procés and the Supreme Court judge Pablo Llarena lifted the arrest warrant that had still been in place against Puigdemont, who has been in exile from Spain for nine years following the illegal referendum of 1-O.

Puigdemont himself celebrated the victory of the amnesty at an event from Waterloo where he appeared emotional and promised to continue working for the self-determination of Catalonia, even through unilateral means.

“What has been agreed requires closing, putting an end to, the stage of political repression that we have been suffering for more than nine years, simply because we voted for the independence of our country”

In his institutional speech, the leader of Junts also claimed to have defeated the strategy of the Spanish public powers that, in his view, delayed the application of the amnesty law for political reasons.

“The margin to manipulate and twist the application of a law that has been in force for two years and four months has ended”

Despite the defiant tone, Puigdemont avoided publicly clarifying when he will return to Spain. The consulted sources suggest that he is considering doing so after 29-N to maintain a presidential profile and not contaminate his return with the electoral fray.

Nogueras, who will be the candidate for Junts, will convey a hardline message, similar to the one she has already shown in Congress by overturning housing decrees and accusing the Government of lying about tenant protection against vulture funds. She will also insist that her party will not facilitate either a PSOE or a PP government.

There are sectors within Junts that advocate for Puigdemont to return at the end of October, coinciding with the Girona fairs on the 29th, to take advantage of the emotional impact on his electorate. The latest Sigma Dos poll for El Mundo, published on Monday, gave Junts only four seats, three less than currently.

Puigdemont's lawyer, Gonzalo Boye, stated to TV3 that, after nine years in exile, prudence is advised and it is best to wait for a definitive resolution on the amnesty from the Supreme Court.

“The president is very clear that he should not confuse taking the temperature in the territory with doing so in the middle of an electoral campaign. That would be a mistake”

Boye considered that the most sensible thing would be to return after 29-N. For months, Puigdemont has been designing, along with Albert Batet, a tour throughout Catalonia to gauge the support he retains after almost a decade outside Spain.

The decision to return or not to the political frontline also conditions the succession debate within Junts, a taboo subject that no voice from the party discusses publicly. The internal directive is clear: it is the president who must decide his future.