It didn't take much to set it off. In fact, it required nothing more than an announcement by Pedro Sánchez's new Spanish government, after its first cabinet meeting, that it was lifting Madrid's special control over the Catalan government's finances, in order for a wave of indignation to sweep across the depths of Spain. It didn't matter that the Spanish executive's statement was almost superfluous, given that the coming to power of the Catalan Government a week ago means that direct central rule over Catalonia under article 155 is no longer valid. What it really signified, for part of the unionist movement and its friendly media, was a way to make capital out of a falsehood disguised as truth: specifically, the proposition that Sánchez was starting to pay the price of a prime ministership based on the support of the pro-independence parties. It was also intended to demonstrate that the body of the Spanish establishment will not accept any type of negotiation with the Catalan independence movement. And, to ensure this, the best thing is to make the point firmly as soon as possible.
A government which is an eye-brow raiser in social affairs, which follows the EU line on economic matters, is Andalusian in matters of Spanish regional financing, is epitomised by Spanish daytime TV in cultural matters, and is well to the right on police issues, has new foreign minister Josep Borrell as its reference point on Catalan politics. This has been made crystal clear by the new government spokesperson María Isabel Celaá, also education minister, who has referred to Borrell as "a lighthouse for the government in matters related to Catalonia". It is true that there are two types of lighthouses: those that work, and a few that don't, such as the one in Barcelona harbour, converted into the port clock tower in 1911. Maybe, Borrell belongs to this second type, because if that is not the case, it's disastrous to have government policy guided by someone whom exiled Catalan president Carles Puigdemont has referred to as an extremist.
It is normal that Madrid wants to marks out the playing field but any of the other members of the cabinet would do for this, starting with Territorial Affairs minister Meritxell Batet. But it seems clear that the Spanish government has a deep dread of being accused of selling out to the independence parties, which it is clear it will never do, but which it will nevertheless be accused of. The knives of the PP and Ciudadanos parties have already been sharpened for the occasion.
With all this going on, Catalan president Quim Torra and Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez have already spoken and they have set a date to continue. Dialogue is once again the word in vogue and it's on everyone's lips. When to comes down to it, Spain continues to be a strange case when something as basic as two politicians speaking can be enough to hit the headlines. What will happen if one day they go as far as actually negotiating?