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Next Wednesday 6th September. This is the day marked in red in the agendas of the Catalan president, Carles Puigdemont, the president of the Catalan Parliament, Carme Forcadell, of the vice president, Oriol Junqueras, of the members of the Catalan government, those responsible for the parliamentary groups of Junts pel Sí (Together for Yes) and of the CUP-Crida Constituent (the Popular Unity Candidacy - Constituent Call) to approve in the Catalan Chamber the laws of the Referendum and the Law of Transitional Jurisprudence and Foundation of the Republic. And to culminate the day with the signing of the decree to call the referendum of 1st October by the president of the Catalan government, and who knows, if also by the the rest of the members of the Executive. And even the deputies who have voted for it hours before in the Parliament.

The cards of the pro-independence majority are starting to be placed face upwards with little more than a month before the referendum, and the news coming from Madrid is nothing other than to insist on the appeal of the Spanish government of Mariano Rajoy to the agreements of the Catalan Parliament and Catalan government, and to make use of the Law of National Security approved in 2015 by the PP (Popular Party) and PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party), and which grants exceptional faculties in the defense of Spain and of its constitutional values. If it is true, as is said, that this is the way to try and prevent the referendum, it will be necessary to see if it is carried through to the end, and it even designates a functional authority to coordinate strategic areas of management of the Catalan government and the command of the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police).

The last manoeuvres of great magnitude in the political confrontation are now taking place. The government of president Puigdemont has waited months to take the step of making the situation irreversible, faced with the refusal of Rajoy's government to sit down and negotiate an agreed referendum. It is necessary to remember repeatedly, although no-one wants to hear it, that this was the preferred option, and not a referendum without an agreement. Everything has been prepared by the government to hold the referendum under normal conditions: the ballot boxes are bought, the job of sending out the census [polling] cards is on track, the web of the referendum ready, the pre-established electoral colleges ...

But everything will be different. Among other things because the belligerence of the Spanish state will not remain in a theoretical terrain, following not only what has been repeatedly announced in official statements, but also in the news leaked in the last hours. Also because the position of the 'comunes' continues being sufficently ambiguous for the pro-independence majority to count on it. The dinner between Pablo Iglesias (leader of Podemos) and Oriol Junqueras of last Sunday, and that Jaume Roures hosted, did not calm in any way the republican leader, who found the leader of Podemos to be far from supportive, and distrustful that the Catalan society was willing to hold out and wait for a move from the Spanish state.

From Denmark, Puigdemont insisted on Wednesday that this situation has been reached due to the stubborness of the Spanish government to any type of dialogue about the Catalan demands. The fact of bringing this discusssion to the Nordic countries is inextricably linked to the demand of support groups of various European parliaments, who advised him to maintain a path to the Spanish Executive, even though there wasn't any minimum possible itinerary. The government has committed itself for many months to the understanding and involvement of international public opinion, to maintain ample support in Catalonia for the referendum and to finally win on 1st October with a very important participation, which obviously will depend on the obstacles, and also be conditioned by any final appraisal. And it will end up converting all the threats, warnings, appeals and actions from Moncloa (Spanish prime minister's residence), not worth the paper they're written on.