The Constitutional Court debates on Tuesday the amnesty for those convicted from 1-O, a step that Junts hopes will allow Puigdemont to return to Spain free of legal burdens. The party, currently struggling, is holding onto this return to prevent being overtaken by Aliança Catalana.
The Constitutional Court opens the debate on Tuesday regarding the application of the amnesty to those convicted for the illegal 1-O referendum, a ruling that is not expected until mid-October and which, according to Diario Sur, is assumed to extend to all independentist leaders awaiting legal forgiveness. In Junts, they have been waiting since mid-2024 for this moment, the return of Carles Puigdemont to Spain without legal burdens two and a half years after the amnesty law came into effect.
The party avoids fueling speculation. The spokesperson, Josep Rius, responds with a request: "What we ask for is less leaking, less speculation, and that the amnesty law approved by Congress, which has already been endorsed by European justice, is applied at once." Puigdemont has also challenged the recent 'no' from Supreme Court judge Pablo Llarena to exonerate him from embezzlement despite European backing for the amnesty.
The return of the leader is the card that a party in its lowest hours is holding onto, with the municipal elections of 2027 on the horizon. The latest barometer from the Centre for Opinion Studies of the Generalitat (CEO) anticipates the overtaking of the far-right independentist Aliança Catalana over Junts: Puigdemont's party is projected to drop from the current 35 seats to between 16 and 18, while Sílvia Orriols's formation could rise from two parliamentarians to 25. Junts only retains 50% of its voters from 2024, and only 5% of those surveyed prefer Puigdemont as president of the Generalitat, behind Salvador Illa, Orriols, and the republicans Gabriel Rufián and Oriol Junqueras.
The loss of electoral projection is not the only open front. Following Pere Aragonès' departure from the Generalitat, the new electoral cycle closed with the refusal to negotiate provincial councils with the socialists. Junts has gone from governing Catalonia to having the mayor of Sant Cugat del Vallès as its main institutional figure, apart from the president of the Parliament, Josep Rull.
The preparations for the 2027 municipal elections have not improved the situation either. In Barcelona, the internal battle for the candidacy ended in a defeat for Puigdemont: his candidate, Pilar Calvo, lost to Jordi Martí Galbis, heir to Xavier Trias, despite the explicit support from the president and the leadership. In Sabadell, the two councillors from Junts left the party, leaving it without representation in the former textile capital after being forced out of the municipal government led by the PSC. And in Cambrils and Amposta, the former spokespersons have joined Aliança Catalana, which is already sourcing 20% of its candidates for the upcoming municipal elections from the neoconvergent ranks.
This advance has forced Junts to define its position. The secretary general, Jordi Turull, broke the indecision this summer by stating that they will not negotiate with Aliança. "We must combat hate speech," he argued before the municipal candidates, some of whom, like those from Vic, Manlleu, or Olot, are asking not to veto the councillor from Ripoll in local agreements.
The ruling from the Constitutional Court, which begins this Tuesday, is expected by mid-October. Until then, Puigdemont remains in Waterloo and Junts is awaiting the judicial decision to close the longest period of its leader outside Spain.
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