While neither of the two major parties are likely to win an absolute parliamentary majority, nationalist parties from Catalonia and the Basque Country will play an important role when forming government.
The campaign of a general election in Spain started on Friday's 00:00 as a darkening economic outlook and the end of a housing boom and the relationship of pro-independence regions with Spain set the stage for a close-run race.
While neither of the two major parties, the Socialists and the Popular Party, are likely to win an absolute parliamentary majority, nationalist parties from Catalonia and the Basque Country will play an important role when forming government.
Comparisons between Kosovo and Catalonia and the Basque Country have been drawn since the new Balkan state declared its independence. The fact that the creation of new nations within the 21st century Europe is possible is likely to be a recurring theme during the election campaign.
Attempting to close the door on a referendum in Wales before 2011 is mistakenly putting narrow personal interest before the interests of the Welsh people. Wales should not be placed in a position ever again where it is dependent on a British Government that the majority in Wales did not vote for.