Catalan Separatist Win Leaves Rajoy Counting Crackdown Cost

Rajoy’s PP eclipsed by Ciudadanos as crisis response backfires
Ousted president declares victory from exile in Brussels

Bloomberg’s Maria Tadeo reports on the victory of Catalan separatist parties in the regional election.(Source: Bloomberg)

Provide news feedback or report an error

Confidential tip?

Send a tip to our reporters

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

By Esteban Duarte, Maria Tadeo, Charles Penty, and Vidya N Root

December 21, 2017 at 5:48 PM EST

Updated on

December 22, 2017 at 6:41 AM EST

This article is for subscribers only.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is meeting with allies this morning to plot his next move after a drubbing in Thursday’s Catalan election that saw separatists reclaim control of the regional assembly.

Rajoy headed to a 9:30 a.m. cabinet meeting in Madrid and planned to sit down with his People’s Party leadership later in the day, with the resurgent Catalan independence campaign at the top of the agenda. The PP lost eight of its 11 seats in the region’s parliament as ousted President Carles Puigdemont’s party confounded projections to become the biggest group in a three-way separatist bloc. Spanish bonds fell with bank stocks.