Catalans once longed for freedom, but it doesn't look so appealing now

For the first time since 1980, parties opposing Catalonia's independence from Spain have the support of a majority of voters in the region.

- María Ramírez

Elections on 12 May saw around 54% of the electorate return candidates from non-separatist parties across the political spectrum. The Socialist party scored a momentous victory for the first time.

The vote appears to draw a line under a tumultuous decade marked by a 2017 rush to independence that led to an illegal referendum, a unilateral declaration of independence, mass protest and the worst constitutional crisis since the restoration of democracy in 1975. The result shows most Catalans don't want a separate Catalan republic, but this is the first time the shift in opinion will be reflected in the Catalan parliament.

The Catalan autonomous region was created after the end of the Franco dictatorship. Today Catalonia, even more than other Spanish regions, has considerable powers in healthcare, security and education.

Despite autonomy, support for Catalan independence from Spain had steadily grown, reaching 49% in 2017.

Now, only around 30% of the population unambiguously tick an "independent state" as the best option for Catalonia when pollsters offer a range of nuanced hypothetical outcomes including independence within a federal Spain. Turnout was low in the vote: around 58%, compared with the 80% record of 2017.