Socialist candidate's presidential investiture debate set for Thursday

After a round of consultations with parties, the investiture debate of Socialist presidential candidate, Salvador Illa, will be held on Thursday, August 8.

Parliament speaker Josep Rull formally proposed the leader of the Catalan Socialists as a candidate to be the new president of the Catalan government.

The chamber head made this announcement after consulting with representatives of all the parliamentary groups.

On Tuesday, the first person to pass through Rull's office for the consultations was Illa himself.

Following the presidential candidate were representatives of Esquerra Republicana (ERC), and the leader of left-wing Comuns Sumar, Jéssica Albiach.

Pro-independence ERC and the Comuns are the two parties who will support Illa's bid for the executive after striking deals last week with the Socialists to govern. With the Socialists (42), ERC (20), and Comuns (6), Illa's candidacy has the 68 seats required for a majority. 

If Illa is confirmed as Catalan president, as is expected, it will mark a significant shift in the tide of Catalan politics, as it will be the first time a president in favor of Spanish unity will lead the regional administration since 2010. 

Additionally, Illa's candidacy will be propped up by pro-independence ERC, who have been in power either alone or in coalition with Junts for years. 

The general secretary of ERC, Marta Rovira, has ruled out joining the Socialists in any future government for now, and has opted instead to focus on ensuring that investiture agreements are complied with.

Once the meetings with the Socialists and the two parties who will vote in favor of Illa's candidacy have been held with the chamber speaker, it will be the turn of the rest of parties. First will be representatives from Rull's own party, pro-independence Junts. 

This consultation will be followed by meetings with the conservative People's Party, far-right Vox, far-left pro-independence CUP, and far-right pro-independence Aliança Catalana.

Junts call suspension if Puigdemont is arrested

The general secretary of Junts, Jordi Turull, will ask the parliament speaker to suspend the investiture debate if former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont is arrested.

"These are not conditions to hold this plenary session," Turull affirmed on Tuesday in an interview on Catalan television. 

Puigdemont has been living in exile since 2017 and is still wanted by authorities over organizing the Catalan independence referendum. The amnesty for independence figures has not yet been applied to the former Catalan president in all open cases, and therefore he faces arrest upon return to the country.  

Turull reiterated that the return of Puigdemont is a "commitment" that he has, and that the Junts leader intends to return to attend the investiture debate. 

Junts say that Puigdemont should have already benefitted from the amnesty law, but the Supreme Court maintains that the misuse of public funds charge for organizing the 2017 referendum can not benefit from the amnesty, and therefore expect that Puigdemont will be detained after crossing the border. 

Turull has warned the Socialists that if the arrest happens and the Spanish government "looks the other way," it will be necessary to "reconsider" Junts' support for the executive in Madrid. "We will act accordingly," he warned.