Catalan lawmakers vote on new leader

BARCELONA: Catalonia’s parliament was set to vote on Saturday on whether to appoint hardline independence supporter Quim Torra as regional president, handpicked by deposed leader Carles Puigdemont who stepped aside from the running.

Torra, 55, a father-of-three, is an independence advocate cut from the same cloth as Puigdemont, who chose him to continue his fight with Spain’s central government to achieve Catalan independence.

The candidate gave a bullish speech at the opening of debate in the regional parliament, signalling that the secession crisis is far from over, even if Catalonia does finally get a government after months of political limbo. “I want it to be clear that our president is Carles Puigdemont and we will be loyal to the mandate of October 1 to build an independent state in the form of a republic,” Torra said, referring to last year’s outlawed independence referendum.

He promised to restore Catalonia’s laws suspended by Spanish courts and start drafting a constitution for a future Catalan Republic, stressing that he would “not give up anything” and would “assume responsibility for what comes from our actions”.

Puigdemont would become involved as soon as his legal situation allowed, added Torra, who also condemned the “unacceptable silence” of European institutions over the Catalan crisis.

But he did say was “ready to talk tomorrow without conditions” with the government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.

— Reuters Quim Torra, the candidate proposed by former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont to head the regional Catalan government, is applauded by his fellow party deputies after delivering his speech on Saturday.