Health minister Alba Vergés sent a shiver down Catalan spines this Sunday when she said that the ban on gatherings of more than six people, which came into force this Saturday, is very likely to remain in force for Christmas. Maybe it's because of the fatigue that people feel with regard to politics, because they need a day off from the war between the royal palace and the Spanish government or because the warm-up before Monday's expected disqualification from office of president Torra has already been overcooked, the truth is that Catalan minister Vergés's words turned into the Sunday topic of debate for some, concern for others and displeasure for many. People have never talked about their Christmas dinner so early.
Now, in September, who wants to imagine a Christmas dinner in such tiny family nuclei and without being able to see the parents or the children? What will we do about those Christmas Day and Sant Esteve lunches, with the processions of families going from one place to another? Will the city police be enough, if necessary, to control a situation of this magnitude? I look into the distance and see Quim Monzó content and sharpening his fearless pencil as a great representative of those who every year pour scorn on such interminable family rituals, acts which others consider essential.
Luckily, this Monday we go back to our day to day lives and justice will once again occupy the vast majority of headlines. If the forecasts are correct, the Supreme Court will make public its ruling on the disqualification of Catalan president Quim Torra. It was first speculated that it would be last Friday, during the graduation ceremony for new judges held in Barcelona. An important event which was supposed to include the presence of the king, but the Spanish government's ban on his attendance has led to an unprecedented institutional crisis with serious accusations by ministers against Felipe VI.
Did Felipe VI and judicial council president Carlos Lesmes plot to detonate the Torra bomb when the top hierarchy of Spanish justice was in Barcelona? Did the Spanish government find out about all this and for that reason lock the king in his Zarzuela palace? What consequences will all this have now that criticism of the king for his undisguised leaning to the right has come out into the open? Will the monarchy be able to withstand this growing discredit? I know very well that these are the major news topics of the moment, along with the management of the coronavirus pandemic and the widespread rejection of the president of the Community of Madrid for her irresponsible Covid-19 management. And of course, we'll continue to talk about all this. But damn it! Let's not hear any more bad-taste jokes about Christmas dinners.