Ada Colau (Mayor of Barcelona), Albano-Dante Fachin (leader of Podem Catalunya, affiliate of Podemos - 'We Can'), Joan Coscubiela (spokesman for Catalunya sí que es Pot - 'Catalonia Yes We Can'), Spain's Public Prosecutor's Office, the Civil Guard and the TSJC (High Court of Justice of Catalonia). These six actors make up the current news menu, now that the two sessions of Parliament have passed, with the approval of the laws of the Referendum and of Transitional Jurisprudence and Foundation of the Republic, and the signing by the Catalan president, Carles Puigdemont, and of all his government, for the referendum of 1st October. Colau is, without doubt, the main act of the day due to her permanent waivering when it comes to assigning or not the city's municipal premises for the referendum. Everybody is pressuring her and she is extending and prolonging her decision. When she speaks, one thing is understood: that she is, even if she's reluctant about it, with 1st October; when she acts, it is another matter, and her signature has not appeared alongside more than six hundred town councils that have already put themselves at the disposal of Carles Puigdemont and Oriol Junqueras (Catalan government vice-president). Some say she's calculating - and she's calculating with the threats of trials from the Spanish government and the Public Prosecutor's Office in the middle of everything. Her political career could be cut dry and this is not a pleasant prospect. For sure. In the meantime, it had the plaza of Sant Jaume full of protestors, many of them her voters, asking her to collaborate with the referendum. She should be concerned if those who understood her more than anything were those who didn't vote for her.
Fachin is not only the man of the day. Surely he is also at the podium for those of the week, and even aspiring to figure on the list for those of the month. Although there are those who want to see him more outside than within Catalunya Sí que es Pot (CSQEP - Catalonia Yes We Can) and of Podem (We Can), the darts are coming from Madrid and not from inside of the purple organisation in Catalonia. His support of the referendum is not liked, even though he defends the 'no'. His belligerence in favour of 1st October lays bare too many colleagues, and politics does not have friends. His attitude in the Catalan Parliament has been poetic following the interventions of the leaders of CSQEP. Especially when Joan Coscubiela occupied the stage, hammer of the secessionists and ally of Cs (Citizens) and PP (Popular Party) in two marathon days in the Catalan chamber. To see Albiol and Arrimadas applauding Coscubiela with the enthusiasm they did is undoubtedly one of the viral videos of the last 48 hours.
The Public Prosecutor's Office and the TSJC on the one side and the Civil Guard on the other complete the news carousel of the day. The legal production is starting off high and the Spanish government not only has given work to the Constitutional Court but also to other institutions. The presentation of a criminal lawsuit against the entire Catalan government represents a milestone in Spanish democracy. If it ends up prospering, and there are few doubts that this is not the case, the institutional impact will be very high. The TSJC has already admitted it for formal processing, and it will be necessary to see the rhythm that it wants to impose and how the events are developed: if it ends up not being worth the paper it is written on, because the referendum is celebrated and ends up being the cornerstone of political movements of the future, or the repression is so high that it ends up immobilising its realisation.
The case of the Civil Gaurd is very different. If the information provided is true, the fact that the agents abandoned Constantí's printing press with empty boxes after 48 hours of external surveillance, as well as searching the workers and a final search of the premises, is not surprising. It is not very clear to me if the level of anti-terrorist alert four corresponds with this waste of time, although in the the news game of snakes and ladders, they could always end up talking about the CIA.
And I have left for the end the Spanish government's warning of presumed responsibilities to all those citizens who participate in the organisation of the referendum. With this warning to individuals, the government crosses a dangerous final line and about which it obviously does not have legal means to act but instead sow fear among the citizens. For this same reason, it might just as well have notified the 59,376 people who, at 22.24am had already signed on to the web joconvoco.cat in support of the president and his government to convene the referendum, as well as the 26,000 registered volunteers. Nonsense, certainly.