Socialists brace for defeat to nationalist forces in Catalonia

speeches two days ahead of Sunday's regional elections, which are being widely viewed as a litmus test of the central government's resilience to the economic crisis. Opinion surveys are forecasting a serious defeat for the ruling Socialists (who also rule in Madrid) and a landslide victory for the nationalists of CiU, who would thus return to power after an eight-year hiatus. The question is whether CiU can win a clear majority.

José Montilla, the incumbent, spent Friday sprinting between rallies and enjoining workers to vote Socialist to stop "the conservative tide" threatening to engulf Catalonia, Spain and Europe. During his campaign Montilla has avoided calling for greater self-determination for the region, and instead focused on a "right-versus-left" view that depicts the Socialists as the last bastion of the welfare state.

His main opponent and likely victor, Artur Mas of CiU, chose to end the campaign on an epic note, talking about the need to rebuild Catalonia and also choosing to tiptoe around sensitive issues like the Estatut, the regional charter of rights steered through parliamentary votes by the Socialists but that was partly shot down by the Constitutional Court earlier this year.

Meanwhile, Alicia Sánchez-Camacho of the conservative Popular Party addressed her last speech to undecided voters, telling them to go vote with their head held high and free of the "prejudice and stigma" surrounding a pro-Spain party in a region with a strong nationalist representation. Other candidates include Albert Rivera of Ciutadans, a party formed in 2005 to fight what it considered "the mandatory nationalism" imposed on the region by the then-ruling CiU.