A fugitive who cannot enter Spain without being arrested wants to become Catalonia’s prime minister in today’s election. His fans flock to hear him. “I’m looking forward to his return,” Dolores says in a steady voice. Carles Puigdemont is the man for whom the pensioner’s political heart beats. And also the hearts of many other people in Catalonia. Ahead of Sunday’s parliamentary elections in the Spanish region, Junts, the party of the separatist leader who fled into exile in Belgium in autumn 2017, is in second place in all opinion polls. The leading candidate and former president of the district even hopes for a victory. But even as a runner-up he is likely to have a chance of returning to the Palau de la Generalitat, the government of Catalonia, in Barcelona, ​​as its head.

Although it wouldn’t be that easy to get into Spain. Because the 61-year-old would be arrested immediately. The reason for this absurd scenario is that the educated journalist and father of two daughters allegedly fled Spanish justice in the trunk of a car after the failed secession attempt six and a half years ago. It was only at the end of February that the Supreme Court of Madrid initiated criminal proceedings against the MEP for terrorism.

They listened to him as if hypnotized

The country’s left-wing government under Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, for whom separatist support in Madrid’s parliament is crucial, has promised amnesty to all so-called “Catalanists” who have run afoul of the law over secession efforts. However, the law, which has been heavily criticized by the conservative opposition, has yet to clear all parliamentary hurdles and is not expected to come into effect anytime soon.

Puigdemont still wants to return home after the election at the latest when the regional parliament votes on a new head of government. “I’m not afraid of arrest, but I have to calculate it” he said these days. The controversial candidate, who was actually considered politically dead, held his campaign rallies in the French town of Argèles-sur-Mer, near the border with Catalonia.

The municipal hall, which holds about 1500 spectators, was suffocatingly full. Some days even 1500 people had to stay outside. El Mundo newspaper described the gatherings as “messianic pilgrimages”, while ABC newspaper spoke of a “rebirth of the fugitive president”.

Teacher Luthia from Tarragona traveled about 600 kilometers in one day to be there. “It will restore our honor,” he said. He stood in line for an hour and a half for a picture with Puigdemont. His followers listened as if hypnotized saying phrases such as “The time of oppression will soon end” or “We are at a historic crossroads”.. To loud cheers from his supporters, he shouted: “They wanted to put the prime minister in prison. And now I am here with you, a few weeks before my return, without having to apologize to any Spanish judge. Long live free Catalonia!”.

“We are Catalan, not Spanish”

However, Puigdemont has many supporters in Catalonia. Many of them live especially in the region of Girona, with the capital of the province of the same name, a true stronghold of the separatists, where Dolores’ family lives. The pensioner votes left, but has a high regard for the conservative-liberal politician. “Puigemon has made our race known all over the world,” he says. In the community of 100,000 inhabitants, apart from the many tourists, everyone speaks Catalan, even if you speak to them in Spanish. “It’s a matter of survival of the Catalan language and culture,” Dolors told the German News Agency.

“We don’t like it when people impose something on us from outside. When I’m in Germany, I have to speak German too.” Her granddaughter Lola does not yet have the right to vote, but shares her grandmother’s enthusiasm for the cause. “Catalonia does not belong to Spain,” she says, clapping her hand over her heart. If you ask people on the street in Girona and the neighboring municipality of Figueres, you will usually hear similar phrases. “We are Catalonia, we have nothing in common with Spain,” says the retired Yordi. Architecture student Mark and his girlfriend Laia say in unison: “This is about the right to self-determination. We want to decide for ourselves how we want to live.” In Barcelona, ​​however, opinions are more divided.

But how likely is Puigdemont to come to power? According to opinion polls, Sanchez’s Socialist Party led by candidate Salvador Ila will win with around 40 MPs, but fall well short of an absolute majority of 68 seats. At the same time, however, it is doubtful whether the various separatist parties together will achieve this number. And it is also unclear whether the separatist Republican Left (ERC) of realist regional president Pere Aragones, which is at risk of falling to third place, will back Yilla or Puigdemont.

Appeasement policy Sanchez

Meanwhile, there are rumors in Madrid that Sanchez may instruct Ila to step down as regional president in favor of the separatists in order to keep them satisfied, even in the event of an outright victory. This is what the conservative president of the Madrid region, Isabel Diaz Ayuzo, believes. He accuses Sanchez and Ila of “abandoning Catalonia to the bandits, the totalitarians and the corrupt”.

Sanchez’s appeasement policy scares many, but pleases others. “The Socialist prime minister will allow the referendum on Catalan independence that the separatists are calling for,” Junts spokesman Josep Rius predicted in a radio interview this week. “Sanchez still denies it, but he also rejected amnesty for a long time.”

Editor: Irini Anastasopoulou