Rajoy fears 'little can be done' to stop a non-binding referendum on Catalunya's independence

The country's president Mariano Rajoy has re-focused his arguments lately, calling Catalunya's leader Artur Mas 'anti-democratic', now that the State law service has warned that it is unlikely to be able to find any legal channels prohibiting a non-binding, non-compulsory public vote taking the format of an opinion poll. 

A referendum, mirroring the recent vote in Scotland, could indeed be blocked on legal grounds since it went against the Spanish Constitution, and effectively has been since Mas has decided not to go ahead with it on November 9 as planned. 

But if it was framed as an opinion poll based upon the public's right to participate in policy-making, and not compulsory for all residents in Catalunya or those born in the region but living elsewhere, the State law service believes there is little the courts can do.

"This is more difficult, and the government cannot, under any circumstances, risk losing - it would be catastrophic," says a communication from the presidential headquarters in the Moncloa Palace, Spain's answer to the Whitehouse or 10 Downing Street. 

Rajoy calls the whole situation a 'drama', stating that whilst in Europe, the talk is of union and integration, 'some want to go on a journey back to the Middle Ages'. 

"We have to protect the rights of the citizens of Catalunya, and I've given instructions for all decisions made by its regional government [the Generalitat Catalana] to be analysed," states Rajoy (pictured).

"If we can say with all certainty that there has been the slightest breach of the law, we'll go to the courts."

Rajoy and his deputy president, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría, say Mas' 'process' has 'no democratic guarantee' and is 'without precedent' in Spain.

"There has been no prior census and those who are in favour of a certain position [Catalunya's independence] are those who are in control of, have custody of and will count up the ballots - they are also passing on the responsibility to the citizens, and these citizens have not been given written instructions.

"Quite honestly, the people of Catalunya, the general public, do not deserve this."

With just two weeks to go until the original planned date of the referendum-cum-non-binding public vote, it is still not known what the Generalitat Catalana intends to do, if anything.