Catalan president in exile Carles Puigdemont has confirmed that he is definitively breaking his links with the PDeCAT (Catalan European Democratic Party). He wrote on Twitter: "I have just communicated to David Bonvehí, president of PDeCAT, my decision to resign from the party he presides over. I will continue to work, now as president of Junts per Catalunya (JxCat, or in English, Together for Catalonia), to maintain a cordial relationship between the two parties".
Today's movements are the latest steps in a months-long process of reorganization of the centre-right part of the Catalan pro-independence space, as the PDeCAT - which seemed destined to dominate this part of the electorate when created in 2016 - has gradually become less relevant, while JxCat, created as an umbrella electoral candidature led by Carles Puigdemont in 2017, was converted into a fully-fledged party this July.
Joint letter
The precipitant to Puigdemont's announcement has been a court action brought against his new party by the one he has now left, centred on control of the Junts per Catalunya brand. And his departure is accompanied by a steady stream of other resignations. Almost all the current Catalan government ministers who hailed from the PDeCAT have also jointly announced their exit in a letter this Monday: government spokesperson Meritxell Budó, the territorial minister Damià Calvet, interior portfolio holder Miquel Buch and the digital policies minister Jordi Puigneró.
These four ministers admit that "it is a complex process but Catalan society deserves the greatest possible clarity". And they consider that Junts per Catalunya is "the best tool for the prisoners, exiles and people of Catalonia".
They stress that they are taking this step "without any resentment or looking back", but at the same time are critical of the latest PDeCAT moves: "Since the national executive of the PDeCAT is not following the mandate from its members, nor is it convoking them to find a way out to the current tangle, but rather, is initiating the judicalization of the relationship between the two organizations, we opt for coherence and take the step to become members exclusively of Junts per Catalunya," reads the joint letter.
As for enterprise minister Àngels Chacón, she has previously stated that she has no intention of resigning from the PDeCAT.
Beyond the members of the Catalan government, Spanish congressional MP Míriam Nogueras also announced her resignation from the party: "For the independence of Catalonia, the defence of fundamental rights, the progress of the country and all of its inhabitants." And she asserts that JxCat is "the transversal, committed, transparent, courageous and above all useful tool" that is now needed.
Puigdemont's announcement came just minutes after the press conference called by PDeCAT spokesman Marc Solsona on the dispute over the Junts per Catalunya brand. Solsona stated that it is "a lawsuit against corporate agreements, in no way is it against president Puigdemont". And he believes that as a "serious party" that it is, PDeCAT will respect the agreements that were made when JxCat was created. Solsona concludes: "We are not changing positions from where we were."
Events have moved speedily since Saturday, when it was confirmed that the PDeCAT intended to take Puigdemont's new party to court for the use of the acronyms. In July, a legal change of ownership of the JxCat brand took place in the official register of political parties, and it was left in the hands of people close to Carles Puigdemont. The PDeCAT, however, considers that the change was made fraudulently.
Another important figure in the JxCat parliamentary group who withdrew from the PDeCAT on Monday is the group's president, Albert Batet. He assured on social media that JxCat, Puigdemont's new party, "is the best instrument" to achieve the independence of Catalonia and to continue working for Catalans. Batet also underlined the importance of Puigdemont's leadership at the head of the party.
Former minister and political prisoner Josep Turull also announced this afternoon that he was resigning from the party chaired by David Bonvehí. In addition, the political prisoners and ex-ministers, Josep Rull and Joaquim Forn, have also left the formation as the ACN agency has learned from JxCat sources.