Carles Puigdemont and Oriol Junqueras met again in Waterloo, this Thursday for the first time since both were revalidated in the autumn at the head of their respective teams. During the meeting, and after years of turbulent relations between Junts and ERC, both have committed to “start a new stage” for the independence movement to regain its lost momentum.
The meeting lasted just over two hours and the number 2 of both groups also participated, Jordi Turull for Junts and Elisenda Alamany for ERC. The meeting also coincided with the decision in Congress on whether to process the motion of confidence raised by Junts against President Pedro Sánchez, which has ended up being postponed.
At the doors of the meeting, at the ‘House of the Republic’ in Puigdemont, Junqueras did not want to go into details. And the statement after the conversation, of just two sentences, has not offered clues about what was discussed either. Perhaps the most striking thing has been that the text has been agreed upon by both teams and that it includes a call to improve their “necessary and essential” relationship.
“The leaders of both parties have agreed to promote coordinated work spaces to debate the issues that affect the national future and the social progress of Catalonia in all areas,” reads the statement, “and to begin a new stage of relationship that contributes to recovering the strength and initiative of the independence movement.”
Before entering, Junqueras had stated: “Our desire is to have a fluid and polite relationship with everyone.” “It is always good to have the best possible relationships with all social and political agents, and Junts are part of that group of people,” he added.
The last meeting between Junqueras and Puigdemont, who have never hidden their bad relationship since the years of the process, was in June 2024, in the middle of negotiations on the investiture of Salvador Illa in Catalonia. By then Junqueras had resigned as president of ERC and Puigdemont was not yet officially at the head of Junts as he is now.
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