Support for independence drops slightly, says government poll

Slightly fewer people with the right to vote are in favor of Catalan independence compared to a few months ago, says the latest poll from Catalonia's Center for Opinion Studies (CEO).

The latest survey from the Catalan government's polling agency finds that some 48.8% are currently against Catalonia splitting from Spain, compared to 41.9% in favor.

In the last CEO poll on the issue in July, 48.3% of those surveyed said they were against an independent Catalonia, with 44% saying they would like the country to secede.

However, the survey was carried out between September 16 and October 7, before the Supreme Court sentenced Catalan independence leaders to up to 13 years in prison.

As for Catalonia's status in relation to Spain, the poll found that 33.6% of those surveyed prefer it to be a separate state, 28% prefer it to remain an autonomous community, 21.6% would like it to be a federal state, with 7.8% wanting it to just be a region of Spain. 

The CEO poll, which was made public on Friday morning, was based on face-to-face interviews with 1,500 people.

Governments and monarchy score low

The survey also asked people to score political institutions, with the Catalan government getting an average score of 4.44 out of 10, and the Spanish government also getting a fail, with an average score of 3.08.

Some 72.9% of Catalans also gave a big thumbs-down to the Spanish monarchy, with 25.1% favorable and 1.9% who did not know or did not respond. As a result, the average score for the monarchy was the lowest for any institution, at 2.17.