SPAIN'S president Mariano Rajoy has voiced his disapproval of Donald Trump's ban on citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries from entering the USA – but avoided criticising too much so as not to cause a diplomatic crisis.
Madrid's mayoress Manuela Carmena, however, has likened Trump's election to office with that of Adolf Hitler.
During a meeting with the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP) held in tribute to the late Valencia mayoress Rita Barberá, Rajoy said he 'trusts the situation will be resolved' and that 'things will get back to normal'.
Rajoy stressed he is not in favour of vetos, nor borders, but believes that the world 'is not going to head down that road'.
Government spokesman Íñigo Méndez de Vigo assured that Spain would 'defend its values' and 'make its principles plain' both in its bilateral relations with the USA and in any international forum, but 'without resorting to strident protests or shouting', instead using 'diplomacy'.
Méndez de Vigo, who is also minister of culture and sports, says he 'appealed from the word go to México and the USA to rebuild their relationship'.
He denied accusations that the PP-led Spanish government had not publicly or privately condemned Trump's policies, insisting Spain had 'made its position very clear from the start'.
Less subtly, Manuela Carmena likened the 45th US president's victory to that of the German Nazi leader responsible for World War II and the holocaust.
She did not name Adolf Hitler when she recalled that he was, like Trump, democratically elected, but the context made it very clear to whom she was referring.
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