Catalonia: the arrest of Puigdemont threatens to undermine the fragile talks between Spain and regional leaders

Although the arrest of former Catalan leader, Carles Puigdemont appears to have united the independence camp, in reality it is very divided, writes Graham Keeley in Barcelona

Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont, center, gives thumbs up as he walks with Catalonia's president Pere Aragones, left, and the Speaker of the Catalan Parliament Laura Borras, right in Alghero, Sardinia (AP)

Former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont will appear next week in a court in Italy after his arrest on a visit to the island of Sardinia threatened to undermine the fragile efforts by Spain and Catalonia to resolve a deep political crisis.

The 58-year-old MEP was detained on Thursday as he stepped off a plane at Alguero airport in Sardinia and was released on bail the next day by an Italian judge, to reappear in court on October 4.

The Catalan leader, who lives in self-imposed exile in Belgium but was visiting Italy for a Catalan folk meeting, could face extradition in Spain over his alleged involvement in the unilateral independence referendum and the subsequent declaration of independence in October 2017.