However a pact between CiU - Mr Mas's centre-right nationalist coalition - and Esquerra Republicana will not be easy.

BBC: Catalonia election: Separatists win majority

But local observers point to the large number of undecided voters still swithering between CiU and the left-wing independentistes ERC.

BBC: Catalonia's 'bitter and personal election'

The nationalist Convergence and Union (CiU) coalition is set to oust a Socialist-led coalition from power.

ECONOMIST: Spanish politics

Like its Basque counterpart, however, CiU is likely to be tempted as much by a greater ration of self-government than by another tranche of economic reform.

ECONOMIST: Spanish politics