The polls said a majority were in favour of remaining part of Spain. You'd think that would increase if the government set up an official campaign and made the argument for staying unified giving them an easy win and putting the issue to bed for a generation.
Make no mistake, Catalonia will get an official referendum at some point. They have the right to self determination and if they can't exercise it through the ballot box they will become radicalised. Its as if nothing was learnt from the ETA debacle.