Puigdemont, a member of the European parliament, has lived in Brussels for the past six years after fleeing Spain to avoid arrest over his role in the failed unilateral bid for regional independence in October 2017. While he is still sought by Spanish courts he now also finds himself playing kingmaker as Spain's acting prime minister, the Socialist leader Pedro Sánchez, tries to win support for a new coalition government.
The conservative People's party (PP) won the largest number of seats in the election but Sánchez and his allies are far better placed to form a government - especially if they can win the backing of the seven MPs in Puigdemont's centre-right Junts party. If neither the left nor right bloc can put together a government, voters will head to the polls again in January for Spain's sixth general election in nine years.
Speaking in Brussels yesterday, the former regional president made clear his party's support for a new Sánchez administration would depend on "the complete abandonment of judicial proceedings" he and others faced over their role in the push to secede from Spain. "This is what we want, that the Spanish government creates amnesty legislation. This is the responsibility of our incoming government and our prosecutors."
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