Separatists suffered a historic defeat in Sunday’s parliamentary elections in the Spanish region of Catalonia. For the first time since 1980, the pro-independence parties in the Spanish region combined missed out on an absolute majority of seats in the 135-seat regional parliament in Barcelona. The Socialists led by top candidate Salvador Illa won the election, though with 42 seats they are a long way from an absolute majority, according to provisional official results. However, Illa was in a position to be elected head of government with the support of other left-wing parties – and thus preve…