Carles Puigdemont said in an interview broadcast on Thursday that he would not become leader of the opposition in the Parliament of Catalonia if he returns to Catalonia. The decision means the post, which Junts has left vacant since the legislature began in August 2024, will not be filled by the party's former president of the Generalitat.
For Catalan voters, the statement rules out Puigdemont taking the formal opposition role scrutinising the government of Salvador Illa, the current president of the Generalitat. Puigdemont has not said whether he intends to serve as a member of the Catalan Parliament.
“I could not act as such, but, on the other hand, even if I could, it seems to me that someone who has been president of the Generalitat and has held the presidency, which is an institution, it is not correct that they should later have to control the president, whoever it may be.”
Opposition post has been vacant since 2024
Puigdemont made the remarks on 2Cat's Pla Seqüència, in an interview with Jordi Basté recorded in Waterloo, Belgium. He was formerly president of the Generalitat, Catalonia's devolved government.
Junts decided not to take the leader of the opposition post when the current parliamentary term began in August 2024. Puigdemont's comments answer one question about his potential return, but not whether he would take a seat in Parliament.
Puigdemont names first planned visits
During the interview, Puigdemont said the Catalonia he left “no longer exists” and that he wants to understand its present-day reality by listening to younger generations.
He said his first visits on returning would be to the cemetery where his parents are buried and to his family home in Sant Julià de Ramis.
Primary sources: Generalitat de Catalunya, eb.gencat.cat, exteriors.gencat.cat, govern.cat. Reported by en.ara.cat, elmondelatele.cat, ara.cat, omny.fm, VilaWeb, COMUNICACIÓ, Nació Digital, Diari ARA.
