A hot year ahead

SPANIARDS call a chat between two people unwilling to listen to each other a conversation between besugos—the grimacing, pop-eyed sea bream. The description often suits their politicians’ discussions, but perhaps not for much longer. With Spain’s traditional parties in decline and Catalan separatism on the rise, they may soon be forced into a proper dialogue.

The prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, missed one chance to start such a discussion when he met Catalonia’s regional president, Artur Mas, on July 30th. Catalonia’s regional parliament, where Mr Mas’s Convergence and Union (CiU) coalition is propped up by the separatist Catalan Republican Left (ERC), plans to pass a law in early September setting a non-binding referendum on independence for November 9th. Mr Rajoy, who wants to ban the referendum, will ask judges to declare it unconstitutional. That would force Mr Mas to square a circle: he has pledged both to stay within the law and to consult Catalans on independence.