Catalan president Carles Puigdemont has "absolutely not" brought up the possibility of him taking a step back to his collaborators, still hoping to be reinvested president, according to one of the lawyers advising the five politicians in exile in Belgium, Gonzalo Boye.
The lawyer was speaking to the press outside the house Puigdemont has rented in Waterloo, where the president met this Friday with fellow ministers Lluís Puig and Clara Ponsatí of JxCat and Toni Comín and Meritxell Serret or ERC.
"It's an ordinary meeting. We've already held similar ones", said Boya about the meeting to prepare the legal defence of the five pro-independence politicians. Also present was the Catalan Parliament's first deputy speaker, Josep Costa, part of Puigdemont's defence team.
Asked by the press, Boye avoided commenting on whether Puigdemont stepping aside politically would help his legal strategy, saying that he never makes "political recommendations". "We've only talked about legal matters. I'm only his lawyer", he added, asked about a potential investiture.
Also at the house were the Catalan police officer who has often been seen with the president, Lluís Escola, as well as Puigdemont's friend and personal adviser, businessperson Josep Maria Matamala.
Today's meeting comes after the controversy between JxCat and ERC, the two largest pro-independence parties, over the decision the speaker of the Catalan Parliament, Roger Torrent (ERC), announced on Tuesday to ask the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg for interim measures as a way to try to enable Puigdemont to be invested president of Catalonia, against the veto of Spain's Constitutional Court.
JxCat, through deputy spokesperson Eduard Pujol, called the move "arbitrary and unilateral" at the same time as warning that it could come into conflict with Puigdemont's legal defence strategy. Costa, one of Puigdemont's lawyers and present at today's meeting, also expressed his disagreement with Torrent on Wednesday, warning that the application would have no "guarantee of success" and that they shouldn't make "fools" of themselves.