 Complete the following phrase:  Ever since its inception, the party struggled to maintain the political and electoral space formerly held by the late CDC. Ahead of the 2017 Catalan regional election and the exceptional circumstances around its celebration, the PDeCAT proposed ousted Catalan president Carles Puigdemont as their leading candidate, at the helm of an electoral alliance centered around the candidate under the Together for Catalonia JxCat label and including Puigdemont-aligned non-PDeCAT members such as Jordi Sànchez or eventual Catalan president Quim Torra. The alliances success in the election, where it outperformed Republican Left of Catalonia ERC to become the dominating force within the pro-independence camp, resulted in an increase of influence for Puigdemont within the party. On 9 January 2018, Artur Mas resigned as PDeCAT president, citing disagreements with Puigdemonts plan for independence. Ahead of the partys general assembly on 2122 July 2018, Puigdemont forced Marta Pascals renounce as PDeCATs coordinator-general, resulting in the appointment of a new leadershipwith David Bonheví becoming new party president replacing Munté, who had acceded the post after Mass resignation and Míriam Nogueras as vice-presidentmore supportive of Puigdemonts strategy. Concurrently, Puigdemont established his own political platform, the National Call for the Republic CNxR, intending for the PDeCAT and its political structure to be eventually merged into it. One of Pascals last decisions as coordinator-general of the PDeCAT was to support the 