I think it was deliberately designed that way because the matters on the table are serious.
Unrest, violence are possible in this situation.
Seizure of control of the local police which is part of the package of measures Madrid has on the table, would probably result in a split down the middle of the local police into two factions.
The modern nation-state is like Hotel California
We were in Barcelona last weekend. When we were walking down from the art museum to plaza Espana there was a large demonstration marching down the street but it was peaceful. Other than that it looked like any other day in Barcelona, loads of tourists totally oblivious to what's going on in the background. There were also a few dozen tv cameras and reporters outside of the main government offices like they were expecting something to happen but nothing did.
If I were in charge of Catalonia I would have a plan ready that would wipe out every record of every citizen if I even thought Madrid was stepping in to take over. Store a copy of the records somewhere safe in case they let you back in but leave nothing to the new leaders. Every tax record, every traffic ticket, every government transaction with the citizens. If they want to take over let them start from scratch and deal with the resulting chaos.
This is interesting...
Catalonia in numbers
16% of Spain’s population live in Catalonia, and it produces:
25.6% of Spain’s exports
19% of Spain’s GDP
20.7% of foreign investment
(Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness, Eurostat, Bank of Spain)
I don’t know much about the issue but this suggests Catalonia has some clout.
Spain needs to thread the needle. If Madrid removes the Catalan leader, bombs will start going off in Madrid.
Wife and kids have bugged out.
If only the Spanish government put the same effort into resisting the Islamic invasion.