At the June 8 ceremonial handing over of portfolio briefcases from outgoing conservative People鈥檚 Party (PP) ministers to their incoming Spanish Socialist Workers鈥 Party (PSOE) replacements, the contrasts were dramatic.
A bunch of reactionary lifetime political operators and religious obscurantists were replaced by what new Prime Minister Pedro S谩nchez boasted was the 鈥減rogressive鈥, 鈥渇eminist鈥 and 鈥淓uropeanist鈥 alternative.
The Catalan parliament finally voted in a new president on May 14, 199 days after the pro-independence bloc held on to its majority at the December 21 elections imposed by the Spanish government.
Just after 3pm on October 27, the Catalan parliament voted to ratify the results of the country鈥檚 October 1 referendum on self-determination, proclaiming Catalonia 鈥渁n independent state in the form of a republic鈥.
Outside parliament the vote was greeted with cheers from the tens of thousands of people who had gathered for this historic moment.