Read in Catalan

The Spanish prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, after his audience this Monday at the Marivent Palace in Palma de Mallorca, explained that he had transferred a clear message to the king: "Your Majesty, there will not be a referendum." Words that do not need analysing with a magnifying glass as they are already too familiar, but they will be subject to public scrutiny in 55 days time. It is important that the message was not delivered to you or me but to the head of state, shortly before he abandons what for many years has been his official summer residence, but now is just the venue to at least take the inevitable and obligatory photos.

Perhaps Rajoy gave him some ideas in private about how he would avoid the referendum, or maybe he simply trusts that the Catalan government will drop their plan of putting out ballot boxes on 1st October, something that he should rule out as soon as possible in order to not feel deceived. Puigdemont and Junqueras have already shown their cards. Publicly Rajoy has not said how he will prevent it, maybe because all the options he faces are bad. Some can even end up generating discontent in two worlds that are peaceful and, in part, lethargic: the Constitutional Court and the less militant Catalan unionist sectors, those who are more accommodating and are elusive to any kind of problem.

But his clear and concise words will remain in the newspaper archives after ending his appointment with the monarch in Palma, which by the way, only has the objective to help promote tourism to the island, and what for many years has been an inconvenience for everyone: for the Spanish prime minister of the moment, who has to travel to Palma, interrupting his own vacation; for the king, who can't start his own holidays until he's had his meeting with the prime minister; and for all the journalists, who have lost interest because everything ends up being too forced and lacking in anything newsworthy.

By the way, if you are not one of those affected by the strike at Barcelona's El Prat airport, and nor have friends or relatives that have suffered the consequences, you can read what the Spanish prime minister thinks without becoming too irritated: "It is a one-off problem." With that said, Rajoy then returned to board the plane of the Spanish Air Force that had flown him from Vigo in Galicia to Palma. Beforehand, the infantry of his governing Popular Party (PP) had put half the blame on the Catalan government. The post-truth.