The fugitive Catalan separatist leader shocked Spain by briefly appearing at a rally in Barcelona on Thursday and leading law enforcement on a search and arrest hunt that ultimately failed.
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00:00Catalan independence leader Carles Puigdemont's appearance back in Spain was short-lived.
00:08As soon as the speech he made in Barcelona was over, the separatist leader fled from
00:13under the nose of the police.
00:16What are the consequences of his escape for the Spanish government?
00:20The consequences for the Spanish government will be hard and difficult, at least in the
00:24short time, because the right-wing popular party and the far-right party box will increase
00:29the pressure on Sánchez and his government.
00:32They will link the flight of Puigdemont to a new concession, to a new demand for the
00:37independentist parties in order to maintain the government and the majority in the Spanish
00:41parliament.
00:45A massive police operation was launched in order to stop the former separatist leader
00:50from fleeing.
00:55Radio reported that the former president is now heading to Belgium.
01:00With the escapement, Puigdemont has lost some of the appeal that he has in the independentist
01:10movement.
01:11I think that the image was lost in that flight.
01:16The president of the far-right Fox party called Puigdemont's escape a humiliation.
01:23It couldn't avoid the appointment of Filla, the president of the Generalitat.
01:27It has a strange impact on the party because they are confused by the performance and put
01:35in a difficult place the Catalan national police that was humiliated by that flight.
01:40Experts say, however, that Puigdemont himself may have also lost some appeal in his escape.