Spanish unionists are to copy Cameron's indyref lovebombing of Scotland as they try to stop Catalan independentistas.
Just days before parliamentary elections billed as a proxy plebiscite, the ruling Conservative PP party signalled that it would adopt a more positive tone on Catalunya.
This comes after what most observers believe has been a relentlessly negative campaign highlighting the risks of separation, including expulsion from the Eurozone and the European Union and problems with pensions.
Some Catalan journalists have referred to such scaremongering as being inspired by what they call the "Scottish manual", Project Fear.
Catalans on Tuesday woke to another slew of headlines, mostly in Spanish-language press, warning of the consequences of independence.
Madrid's El Mundo said independence would leave pensions payments "up in the air".
At a glance: the forces fighting Catalunya's proxy indyref
Centre-right paper of record El País headlined that the "Economic risks of independence will decide the final straight".
ABC in Madrid and both big Barcelona papers, La Vanguardia and El Periodico, splashed on worries from the Central Bank of Spain that independence could, potentially, bring an Argentinian or Greek-style freezing of bank accounts.
The two largest Catalan-language newspapers, Ara and El Punt Avui, highlighted record foreign investment in the nation. "Truth or fiction," splashed El Punt Avui contrasting the investment figures with the Central Bank warning.
Most Catalans get their news from Spanish-language outlets.
However, the grim-sounding front pages came after a senior PP spin doctor suggested David Cameron's lovebombing as the tactic for the "final straight".
Pablo Casado, speaking on Monday, said the PP would campaign on a "tremendously supportive Spain". Spanish commentators immediately compared this to the last-ditch efforts of Better Together to sound more conciliatory to Scots after opinion polls ahead of September 18 suggested Yes was gaining ground.
The PP, Mr Casado said, would reach out to Catalans because "we want to continue living together".
Catalonia, the richest part of Spain, goes to the polls on Sunday with surveys suggesting its two pro-independence slates will win a majority of seats and close to a majority of votes.
The PP government in Madrid, led by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, and Spain's Constitutional Court has blocking a Scottish-style referendum.
Catalan nationalists believe victory would give them a mandate for a roadmap to independence, potentially with a unilateral declaration within 12 months.
Unionists are reluctant to accept the parliamentary elections as a defacto referendum - but are mostly campaigning on constitutional issues.
There are no single anti-independence slates in the Catalan elections. The PP has its own ticket and is fighting for unionist votes against radical ultra-unionists and the sometimes federalist socialists. The party's leader in Barcelona, in another echo of the Scottish campaign, has accused independence supporters of intimidation. Mr Casado said the PP would stand up for the "silent and the silenced".
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel