Catalan nationalism obtained a significant increment of vote, seats and even number of parties in the parliamentary elections held yesterday. On the contrary, Spanish allegiance parties globally got the worst results ever since the reestablishment of the Catalan Parliament. Convergència i Unió (center-right moderate Catalan nationalists) will then form government despite it didn't reach an absolute majority. However, CiU is to face the most fragmented opposition ever.

The advance of Catalan nationalism is mainly due to the progress of CiU, which gains 260,000 votes and obtains 14 seats more than in 2006 elections, with a total of 62 -6 below the absolute majority. This large majority will allow CiU (a federation of CDC and UDC) and its leader Artur Mas to form its own government with the eventual support of 4 different parties in opposition with whom it may reach parliamentary majority: PSC-PSOE (Catalan labour with links with Zapatero's PSOE), PP (Popular Party, Spanish conservative nationalists), ICV (eco-socialists) and ERC (Catalan Republican Left of Catalonia, pro-independence). The advance of Catalan nationalism is also due to the entering into Parliament of SI (Catalan Solidarity for Independence), the new party created by former FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta. This is the first time there is a second pro-independence party in Parliament after ERC.

Success by CiU and SI makes light of ERC's free fall. Catalan Republicans have lost 200,000 votes and 11 of the 21 seats obtained in 2006. Pro-independence republicans have been inflicted a hard blow, as they got the worst results since 1988. Leader of ERC Joan Puigcercós has come behind eco-socialists (ICV) in number of votes although both former allies in power have got the same number of seats (10). ICV also decreased its vote and lost 2 seats, 1 in Barcelona and 1 Lleida electoral districts.

Spanish nationalism toughens

Performance of Spanish allegiance parties (PSC-PSOE, PP and Ciudadanos) is worse than in past elections. It amounts to 49 seats, 5 less than in 2006. In spite of this, both PP and Ciudadano's extreme Spanish nationalism increased: PP obtained 70,000 extra votes and 4 seats more, while C's obtained 15,000 extra ballots. As regards Catalan socialists with links with Zapatero's PSOE (PSC), they've got the worst results ever, losing 225,000 votes and 9 seats. PSC's performance has been regarded as a total failure considering its leader José Montilla has been holding the presidency of Catalonia for the last 4 years.

Xenophobic discourse takes shape but remains out of Parliament

Josep Anglada's PxC (Plataforma per Catalunya) captured 75,000 votes. For the first time a xenophobic party has been about to enter parliament, but only secured 2.4 % of the vote 0.6% below the 3% threshold to gain seats. Joan Carretero's Reagrupament Independentista (RICat), with 40,000 votes, also failed to enter the chamber. Despite obtaining 3.3% of the share in the electoral district of Girona, the recently created pro-independence party fell short in the rest of electoral districts.

(Image: columns represent the percentage of votes obtained by each party. Above each column, number of seats obtained are shown.)

Further information:

• Election results on Generalitat de Catalunya website