Both sides have boxed themselves in. The only solution now, I hate to say, is a referendum. Unlike our disastrous one, the bar must be set high. The referendum would be skewed, just like ours was, because if you don’t get independence this time you can keep campaigning. That’s democracy. But, if you leave, getting back in again is next to impossible, and your terms would be much poorer even if you did manage it. I’m not aware of any poll, or analysis of election voting, that shows anything like a decisive majority to leave Spain. A referendum, with terms for its conduct thrashed out and fully agreed by both sides, not just by Spain, is the only way to go, otherwise this will continue to fester for generations. Talk of EU implications is currently premature. I don’t think there’s a difference in thinking between mainstream Spain and Catalonia on that. There’s always room for negotiation on membership for states that have seceded and until we get near to a decision there isn’t much point trying to predict what would happen in those uncharted waters. The EU would want Catalonia as a member and that would probably happen, current rules be damned.