Puigdemont reveals the news through a video broadcast on social networks. He thanked Torre for “the effort and sacrifice of taking office in extreme circumstances.” On the other hand, he criticizes the fact that the Spanish State has not respected the results of the elections of 21 December.

Several media outlets have reported that the president of the Catalan Parliament, Roger Torrent, will probably call the investiture session on Monday. However, since the Soviets do not have an absolute majority, two votes, two plenary sessions will be required to elect a new President. The second session will be held 48 hours later. If everything were to be fulfilled, Quim Torra would become the 131st President of Catalonia.

From businessman to politics

Quim Torra was born in Blanes, Girona, in 1962. He has spent 18 years working as a lawyer in an insurance company based in Switzerland. He left his life behind in the offices and immersed himself in literature, creating the publishing house Acontravent. In 2009, he won the Carles Rahola Prize with his book Viatge involuntari a la Catalunya impossible.

He jumped into politics in 2011 when he was elected president of the pro-independence organization Sobirania i Justícia. He also held institutional positions in the same year. The Barcelona City Council appointed Ciutat Vella’s promotion manager; and in 2012, the then mayor of Barcelona, Xavier Trias, appointed him director of the Born Centre Cultural.

He left the Born Centre Cultural in 2015, when the new government of Ada Colau took effect. He then took over the management of the Revista de Catalunya, and from July to November he was president of the Òmnium Cultural, when Muriel Casals resigned.

Quim Torra took a step forward in his political career when he presented himself as a deputy of the Junts per Catalunya ahead of the elections of December 21, 2018. The editor and lawyer support the legality of the U1 referendum.

The 155 threat

The head of Ciudadanos, Albert Rivera, said on Thursday that even with the presence of the new president, Article 155 of the Constitution should remain in force in Catalonia if the new government does not commit to “respect” the “law” and the statute.

On the other hand, various Spanish parties and media, such as El País and Xavier García Albiol of the PP, have accused the new presidential candidate of being “xenophobic towards the Spanish.”