MADRID: The party of ousted Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont now favours talks with Madrid to achieve independence instead of pushing to break away from Spain unilaterally, its coordinator said on Thursday, the latest sign it was softening its position.

Spanish media have reported that Puigdemont’s PdeCat party and its former government ally, the far-left ERC party, were planning to abandon a call for Catalonia to break away from Spain “unilaterally” in their programmes for a Dec 21 regional election.

“The draft follows this line. It is not finished. It seems like a good route to work on,” PdeCat party coordinator Marta Pascal said in an interview with Cadena Ser news radio when asked about the reports.

Published in Dawn, November 24th, 2017