He is the guardian of Spain’s constitution, and a 2014 poll in Spain’s leading newspaper, El Pais, found a large majority of people were in favor of his playing a greater role in mediating between political parties on national problems. But in general, the king, like his father, allows himself to be guided by the national government, and it seems unlikely Catalan separatists would accept him as a moderator. Last year, he declined to meet Forcadell, of the Catalan parliament, after the incoming regional government did not swear allegiance to him.
The Catalan people. In a province of 7.5 million, some 2.2 million managed to vote, 90% of them for independence. But the separatists aren’t speaking for everyone. A segment being referred to as “silent Catalonia” held rallies on Sunday and Monday to call for staying united with Spain. Until recent days, it’s been harder for them to stir up grassroots support, in part, they say, because of harassment at university campuses. [...]
The Spanish people. Again, the silent majority is, well, silent—though it’s likely most Spaniards want Catalonia to stay. Some parts of Spain apparently held rallies in support of the region’s right to hold a referendum, according to a retweet from Puigdemont. But Spaniards who rallied for unity this week didn’t do their cause much good by accompanying their slogans with fascist salutes. The new leftist political party Podemos, which saw a surge of support in the 2015 and 2016 elections, supports allowing Catalonia to have a referendum, as a way to enable a frank dialogue that would feed into some kind of negotiation with the national government, rather than be binding. In September Podemos participated in a protest in Madrid against the actions the Spanish government was taking to stop organizers from holding the vote.
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