The Spanish media is continuing its double offensive against the governments of Catalonia and Spain (the legitimate governments, as it pains them to admit). The day after the 1st October, the first anniversary of the independence referendum (which also pains them - one year, and the independence movement remains alive and in control), the Spanish press directly calls for intervention in Catalonia and the end of self-government. If you can't beat them, destroy them. And, in the background, murmurs about making ideas contrary to the constitutional order illegal, in other words, support for independence. Torra yesterday called on the Committees for Defence of the Republic (CDR) to keep putting the pressure on; it seems it was the newspapers edited in Madrid that were listening.
Let's go one-by-one. Today's front page of honour goes to ABC, a paper which has historically had no issues defending a heavy-handed approach to Catalonia. Yesterday, it invited the new leader of the Partido Popular, Pablo Casado, to its forum. Today, it's published the results under a headline which is crystal clear: "Control has to be taken in Catalonia". They break down his proposal: reactivate article 155 of the Spanish Constitution, intervene in Catalan public broadcaster TV3, take over the powers of the Catalan education and interior ministries, ban pardons for anyone convicted of rebellion or sedition, define a crime of "organising an illegal referendum", deny funding for parties who "promote social division"... If that's not putting pressure on...
For its part, La Razón joins in with the offensive, attacking the Catalan president: "The CDR take control of the streets with Torra's blessing". It insists on the need to annihilate the independence movement, reapplying article 155 and echoing Casado's proposal to "withdraw subsidies for parties which incite violence".
El Mundo, meanwhile, goes with the headline "Torra cedes the streets to the violent faction with the blessing of the government". This fills the dual roles of picturing a Catalonia in flames and, at the same time, blaming it all on Pedro Sánchez's executive.
And a paper used to softening the Madrid line somewhat, El País opts to highlight the role of the Catalan police during the night's incidents: "The Mossos contain the radicals' siege on the Parliament". That said, they also link the incidents with Torra "encouraging the CDR to continue 'putting on the pressure'".
But watch out, if you build the pressure too much, something has to go.