The Spanish parliament looks set to reject Catalonia’s bid to hold a referendum on independence. <br /><br />Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s Popular Party and the Socialists hold a majority in the assembly and both have said they will vote against the motion.<br /><br />“As prime minister I am and will be everyone’s prime minister. I defend Catalonia as part of Spain, because I can’t think of Spain without Catalonia and I can’t think of Catalonia outside Spain and Europe.” said Prime Minister Rajoy. <br /><br />Catalan leader Artur Mas said he would pursue other legal avenues if the referendum is rejected:<br /><br />Support remains strong for a breakaway as Catalans accuse Madrid of taking its money in taxes then discriminating against the Catalan language.<br /><br />Marta Rovira is parliamentary spokesperson for Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC):<br />“It is so easy to imagine a scenario like the Scottish situation. It is very simple. A table, two chairs, some papers, a pen a lot of political will and sensitivity.” <br /><br />Catalans have no love for Rajoy since he led the fight against the 2006 Catalan Statute of Autonomy, an institutional framework detailing the regions rights and political powers.
