Rajoy Wins Trump’s Backing on Catalonia as Budget Plans Unravel
- Government pulls budget plan citing lack of parliament support
- Prime Minister Rajoy insists illegal referendum won’t happen
Catalonia Sets Independence Vote Deemed Illegal by Spain
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Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy won Donald Trump’s support for his efforts to stop Catalan separatists during a visit to the White House while his political problems deepened back home.
As his boss was meeting the U.S. president in the Oval Office, Rajoy’s Budget Minister Cristobal Montoro pulled his 2018 spending bill, saying it didn’t have the votes to pass. Rajoy has canceled his plans to attend a European Union summit this Friday as prosecutors order Catalan police to block access to polling stations ahead of an illegal referendum on independence set for Oct. 1.