CiU nationalists sweep to power in Catalan race

Seven years after losing power in the northwestern region, the conservative Catalan nationalist bloc CiU is today savoring a victory that was comfortable, but still leaves leader Artur Mas short of an absolute majority to legislate in the regional parliament. After Sunday's vote in which the CiU gained 62 seats out of a total of 135, however, no one doubts that Mas will be able to gain the necessary support to be invested as regional premier.

On Sunday night, CiU campaign manager David Mad¨ª called it an "historic victory" for the bloc, which will put an end to Jos¨¦ Montilla's current PSC-led coalition.

Voter turnout for Sunday's election was around 56 percent, a disappointing figure after a lively campaign in which the Popular Party had caused a stir with its outspoken anti-immigration rhetoric, including a proposal that foreign workers leave the country when they found themselves unemployed. The PP share of the vote rose from 10 to 12 percent, becoming the third force in Catalan politics due to the fall of the leftist ERC, one of the Socialists' coalition partners.

The PSC has governed the region for seven years and the CiU had held power for 23 years until 2003. Many analysts believe that Sunday's ballot will be seen as a punishment vote for Prime Minister Jos¨¦ Luis Rodr¨ªguez Zapatero's Socialist government if the PSC is thrown out of office.

Shortly after the polls closed, a man threw an egg at PSC spokesman Miquel Icetas during a news conference.