Mariano Rajoy, the leader of the conservative Partido Popular, spoke yesterday at an outdoor meeting in Madrid, during which he stated that there is only one nation here: Spain. The PP had called for the demonstration in favour of the Constitution and against the Catalan proposals. Present were several PP regional presidents, and in all the demonstrators were more than double what the PP was expecting -200,000- according to their own estimates, although independent experts calculate the total at somewhere nearer 50,000.

In his speech, Mr Rajoy, his fingers still in plaster from the helicopter accident he suffered on Thursday, stated: "We are not a Nation made up of other nations, we are a Nation of free and equal people."

There were also a considerable show of support for the embattled Cadena COPE radio chain that is under almost constant attack in Cataluña, and some observers believe that this was at least the fourth time that Mr Rajoy made a speech worthy of a Prime Minister.

The photo shows Mr Rajoy (photo, 3rd right) with ex-PP government president José María Aznar (3rd left), Mr Aznar's wife Ana Botella (2nd left), regional Madrid president Esperanza Aguirre (4th right), Madrid mayor Alberto Ruiz Gallardón (2nd right), and PP party spokesman, Angel Acebes (1st right), at yesterday's meeting.