The majority of Spanish citizens don't support a Catalan self-determination referendum, but 36.2% do. That's one of the results from a new survey, "Perception on the territorial debate in Spain 2019", conducted by CEO (Centre for Opinion Studies) for the Catalan government.
Some 36.2% of those interviewed "rather agree or strongly agree", 6.3% "neither agree nor disagree" and 5.7% don't know or didn't answer. Of those not in Catalonia, 57.3% directly reject holding a referendum, however if a "legal and agreed-upon" referendum was to be held, only 44.3% of those in the rest of Spain "would not accept" the result. Only 48.2% say they would accept the result of such a vote.
In Catalonia, those who wouldn't accept the result of a legal referendum are down at 15.5% and only 21.6% oppose one being held. 70% of Catalan respondents support the holding of a referendum.
As for the question of independence itself, 49.3% of Catalans are in favour of it, whilst 41.2% are against. As for those not in Catalonia, support for Catalan independence falls to 13.6%, whilst opposition is at 75.8%.
Solving the crisis
Within Catalonia, over 80% say that dialogue is "most necessary" for "relations between Catalonia and the rest of the Spanish state". Specifically, 42.4% say there should be a "policy of dialogue and negotiations without limits" and 38.1% a "policy of dialogue and negotiations within the framework of the Constitution". In the rest of Spain, dialogue is also seen as being most necessary, but the latter is the most popular option on 48.4%. Indeed, a negotiation without limits gets less support (17.2%) than a "hard line policy on the part of the Spanish government" (26.9%).
As for what kind of solution is necessary, both groups say an "eminently political solution" is more necessary than an "eminently legal" one. In Catalonia, 75.0% support a political solution; in the rest of Spain, 45.2% do. As for support for a judicial solution, the percentages are 8.1% and 27.0%.
There is also a clear divide between Catalonia and the rest of Spain when it comes to the verdicts in the trial of pro-independence leaders. In Catalonia, 75.2% do not believe their imprisonment is "just"; in the rest of Spain, 60.1% believe it is.