The PSOE doubts that Puigdemont is a candidate for the Generalitat and sees it as very forced that he is giving amnesty to take the seat

They consider it more viable for him to run again in the European elections in June and repeat as an MEP.

MADRID, 14 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The PSOE does not see it clear that the former Catalan president and leader of Junts, Carles Puigdemont, is going to present himself as a candidate for the Generalitat in the next regional elections in Catalonia on May 12, since Ferraz believes that it is very forced to think that he will already be amnestied to take possession of the record, given that the Law must still exceed certain deadlines until it comes into force and is applied by the judges. In his opinion, it is more likely that he will once again be the head of the list for the Europeans.

The socialists admit that, after the electoral advance in Catalonia, a new scenario is now opening up that they did not count on and they will have to vary their initial roadmap, which involved approving the Amnesty Law, then carrying out the General Budgets of the State of 2024 and thus ensure the viability of the legislature.

Everything has changed after the Catalan president Pere Aragonès was unable to carry out the regional budgets and immediately called early elections on May 12. It is still up in the air whether Puigdemont will present himself as a candidate, although Junts does not rule out that possibility.

However, sources from the PSOE leadership do not quite see that option and consider it much more viable for Puigdemont to run in the European elections and once again occupy a seat as an MEP in the Strasbourg Parliament.

In order for the independence leader to take possession of his seat or even be named again president of the Government of the Generalitat, he must first benefit from the Amnesty Law, which this Thursday was just approved by the plenary session of the Congress of Deputies. but that still must overcome several steps.

Now the norm continues its processing in the Senate, where the PP has an absolute majority and will foreseeably delay the norm as long as possible, and therefore the amnesty will remain in the Upper House for around two months. It will then return to Congress for its final approval and entry into force, which is not estimated before the end of May, two weeks after the Catalan elections were held.

But, in addition, once the parliamentary process is completed, the responsibility passes to the judges, who must apply the law and nullify all judicial cases related to the independence process in Catalonia.

And it must be taken into account that, in accordance with European legislation and the decree law validated on January 30, if a judge presents a preliminary ruling before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) due to doubts about the Amnesty Law , the entire procedure will be suspended.

Therefore, with this calendar ahead and the unknowns that the process presents, socialist leaders see it as forced for Puigdemont to arrive on time, free of any judicial burden, to take possession of his seat or for a hypothetical investiture.

It was the independence leader himself, who has been on the run in Belgium since 2017, who said that he "could be" at the investiture plenary session, although he did not clarify whether he will be the candidate to preside over Catalonia. He indicated this this Wednesday after learning that Aragonès was calling early elections.

In this sense, Puigdemont's defense sources see it evident that there is coordination between PSOE and ERC so that the dates prevent Puigdemont from attending the elections. Although they do not reveal what the decision will be, they think that there should not be any legal obstacle if he finally decides to appear.

They therefore trust that the judges will lift the arrest warrants while they process their doubts before the Constitutional Court (TC) or the EU Court. Although they assume that Spanish judges will have "legitimate" doubts about the application of the law, they maintain that this should not affect the lifting of precautionary measures. Even so, they recognize that there are no guarantees.