Catalunya's Step by Step

Seems like the Catalonyans decided to back up the new statut, maybe next time they go to the voting poles the result is their independence.

Here you have an article about today's referendum:

Voters back greater autonomy for Spain's Catalonia Region

The author tells us about how it went:

Voters in the northeastern Spanish region of Catalonia opted to seize key powers of self-government in a historic referendum to gain greater autonomy from Madrid.

With 99 percent of the votes counted, 73.9 percent of voters had backed the new statute, while 20.7 percent voted "no", with voter turnout at about 48 percent, official results released by the regional government showed.

More than five percent of ballot papers were blank or void.

I bet Solana is going to hate it when he finds out about the 20% above what he demanded from the Montenegrins last month.

Of course the article had to tackle the Basque issue:

The referendum was seen as a crucial test for Zapatero as he seeks to rally support for peace talks with separatists demanding self-rule for the Basque region of Spain.

Before casting his vote, the Catalonia regional government's President Pasqual Maragall said the referendum was "the most important day since the constitution was signed in 1978 and (Catalonia's) first statute," in 1979, during Spain's transition to democracy.

Shortly after the first exit poll indicated a three-quarter majority vote in favour, the First Secretary of the Catalan Socialist Party Jose Montilla hailed "a great day for Catalonia."

Zapatero has weighed in heavily in support of the autonomy charter and became personally involved in working out a compromise in the Spanish parliament and in the subsequent political campaigning.

Together with the Basque question, the Catalonia vote has become one of the most perilous political issues of his time in power.

Which in turn lead to the issue of the extreme right's reaction in Spain to the peace process:

Right-wing Spanish newspapers said the plebiscite was a test for Zapatero as he attempts to secure backing for peace talks with the armed Basque separatist group ETA, which declared a permanent ceasefire on March 22 after a bloody 38-year campaign for independence.

Zapatero intends to ask his Socialist-led parliament to endorse the beginning of direct talks with ETA, which is blamed for more than 800 deaths during a four-decade campaign for an independent Basque homeland.

The Popular Party broke off contact with the government after its announcement that it would pursue talks with Batasuna, ETA's political wing, and backed a recent large rally opposing the peace initiative.

The winds of change are blowing in the air.

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