Catalonia independence: Parties agree on Carles Puigdemont as regional president to keep independence drive alive

Failure to agree on a new leader would have resulted in fresh elections

Incoming Catalan President Carles Puigdemont, left, and outgoing Catalan President Artur Mas speak in the corridors during a break of the investiture session at the Catalunya Parliament in Barcelona (Reuters)

Catalonia’s pro-secessionist parties, which last September won a majority in the Spanish region’s parliament, have reached an 11th-hour deal to elect a new regional president and keep their independence drive alive.

With just 30 hours to go before a deadline to elect a new regional leader, the centrist Junts Pel Si (JPS) and the left-wing CUP, which both back a break from Spain, finally agreed on the mayor of Girona, Carles Puigdemont, as the new Catalan president. Failure to agree on a new leader would have resulted in fresh elections, putting at risk the majority enjoyed by the parties that favour a breakaway.

Last Monday, Mr Puigdemont’s predecessor, the JPS’s Artur Mas, had said that he was resigned to a new vote after months of disagreement. Mr Mas himself had become the problem after the CUP, politically far to the left of Mr Mas, had refused to support his bid to continue in office, putting the new parliament in a state of paralysis.

“None of this had been foreseen 24 hours ago,” said Mr Mas, who will continue to serve in the Catalan parliament, late on Saturday as the agreement was announced. “This decision allows the country to move forward... It is a painful step for me.”

The Spanish government in Madrid, which opposes Catalan independence and regards even a referendum on the issue as unconstitutional, said: “There is no parliamentary majority that can defend or justify illegal acts.” But the two parties now plan to press ahead with a “road map” to create an independent Catalonia, which they say will be in place at some point next year.