Neither dialogue nor politics

First they showed contempt, then came Operation Catalonia with its fabricated files and the ones that served to make certain politicians choose early retirement. Until quite recently, the strategy was Operation Dialogue, which cost Llanos de Luna her job as the Spanish government’s representative in Catalonia. She fulfilled her political mandate of judicializing the case and was then replaced by self-assured Enric Millo. Aside from opening a little office in the Spanish government’s regional delegation and paying Vice President Junqueras a visit, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría has shown the zero leeway that her party have given her for engaging in politics.

9-N [9 November 2014] put a lot of noses out of joint. Not only Rajoy’s. What was supposed to be a low-key, informal consultation became a massive, civic, popular vote. At the time Fernández Díaz announced that it would not be allowed again, and now the Moncloa has made it clear that it has readied the measures to prevent this year’s independence referendum from taking place. Catalonia’s Ministry of Education will have its powers suspended to prevent schools being used as polling stations, and steps will be taken against the Ministry of Home Affairs to ensure that the Catalan police obey the Spanish government, as well as the issuing of warnings to judges and civil servants. The cars are accelerating towards a head-on collision.

On one hand, neither dialogue nor politics: next Monday the judges will sit a former president of the Catalan government in the dock for having held a referendum. On the other, a massive, society-wide call from the National Pact for a referendum. The third player is the street and everyone is well aware of the fact.