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Catalan separatists are trying to re-elect Carles Puigdemont, who’s currently in Belgium
Thomson Reuters
Posted: Jan 12, 2018 11:04 AM ET
Last Updated: Jan 12, 2018 11:04 AM ET
The Spanish government dismissed outright Friday the possibility of former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont ruling the region from self-imposed exile in Brussels, and said Madrid would contest any attempt to do so in the courts.
Catalan separatists agreed Wednesday to try to re-elect Puigdemont as regional leader, raising the scenario of the fugitive former leader governing by video link from Belgium. He faces arrest in Spain for sedition and rebellion.
“Parliamentary rules are very clear,” said Spanish government spokesperson Inigo Mendez de Vigo at a weekly press conference. “They do not contemplate the possibility of a [parliamentary] presence that is not in person.
“This aspiration is a fallacy, it’s totally unrealistic and it goes against the rule books and common sense.”
Puigdemont spearheaded a movement last year for the wealthy northeastern region of Catalonia to split from Spain, culminating in Madrid sacking his administration and imposing direct rule.
He moved to Brussels shortly afterwards. Several other Catalan leaders have been jailed in Spain.
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