Carles Puigdemont: from self-exile to unlikely kingmaker of Spanish politics

The architect of the illegal Catalonian 2017 referendum has signed an unlikely deal to support Spains's socialists back into government in return for amnesty

Despite the fast-moving, wildly unpredictable and frequently improbable turns Spanish politics has taken of late, very few pundits could have predicted the scenes that played out in Belgium on Thursday.

A little after 2pm, a 60-year-old Catalan politician and fugitive from Spanish justice addressed a packed conference at the Brussels press club. As reporters brimmed with questions that would go unanswered, Carles Puigdemont appeared to be relishing his moment.