Parliament speaker says any attempt to invest Puigdemont 'must be effective and tangible'

The Catalan parliament speaker, Roger Torrent, has insisted that any future attempt to invest Carles Puigdemont as president must be “effective and tangible.”

Puigdemont's Junts per Catalunya candidacy wants to propose a new rule that would allow the former Catalan president, currently in Belgium, to be able to retake his post at a distance.

In an interview with Catalunya Ràdio, Torrent warned that the Esquerra Republicana party (ERC) will not be involved in such an attempt unless those conditions are met. He also stated that the current Quim Torra executive “has to govern” and has “a lot of work to do.”

In fact, Torrent even suggested that the political term could continue after the end of the trial of the Catalan independence leaders in jail. If the Supreme Court convicts the nine leaders currently in pre-trial detention, the speaker believes new elections might not be necessary.

"We will need strong institutions and a robust and democratic institutional response,” argued Torrent.

Reluctant to support Sánchez budget

Regarding the Spanish government's term, Torrent warned that president Pedro Sánchez will not get a “blank check” to support his budget. Instead, he demanded Madrid “abandon the repression” against the independence movement and negotiate bilaterally with Barcelona.

Torrent does not think Sánchez's failure to get his budget passed would necessarily mean new elections in Spain, and he called for “alternatives” instead.