Parliament proposes Puigdemont as leader

REUTERS, 22nd JANUARY, 2018- Catalonia’s parliament on Monday proposed Carles Puigdemont as its candidate for regional leader, dealing a blow to central government efforts to derail an independence movement that has plunged Spain into crisis.

As Puigdemont was named as the sole candidate for a position he was fired from in October, Spain’s Supreme Court rejected a request from the state prosecutor to reactivate a European arrest warrant to detain him in Copenhagen.

Puigdemont, who fled to Brussels in October after Madrid sacked him for spearheading a secessionist drive that culminated in a unilateral declaration of independence, was in Denmark on Monday on his first trip away from Belgium in three months of self-imposed exile.

He became the top candidate to lead the region again after elections there last month, called by Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, that gave secessionists a majority.

“I confirm that the only candidate that has been proposed is Mr. Carles Puigdemont,” said Roger Torrent, the Catalan parliament’s newly-elected separatist speaker.

“I am conscious of the warnings that weigh upon him, but I am also conscious of his absolute legitimacy to be candidate,” said Torrent, calling for dialogue with Madrid to resolve the situation.
Catalonia’s parliament is due to vote on the region’s leadership by Jan 31. Puigdemont argues he could govern from exile abroad, an option that Rajoy has ruled out. A Reuters reporter saw Puigdemont come through customs at Copenhagen airport a little after 0700 GMT and, without being detained, get in a car and leave.