Pujol's retirement ahead of the 2003 Catalan regional election prompted Artur Mas—who served as chief minister () and Pujol's protégée during the late stages of his government—as his successor as CDC leader and CiU leading candidate. After CiU's victory in the 2010 regional election, Mas would become the new president of the Government of Catalonia, introducing previously unseen variable geometry in the region's politics: first by partnering with the opposition's main party the PSC, then seeking collaboration with the local PP branch for approving the regional budget. As a result of the 11 September 2012 demonstration, Mas sought to capitalize on the social momentum of independence by triggering a snap election for 25 November, hoping to expand his parliamentary majority and attain an absolute majority; instead, his party suffered a severe setback by falling from 62 to 50 seats, having to rely on the support of the pro-independence Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) to keep himself in power. Frictions with CDC's alliance partner UDC over the issue of independence ended up in the termination of CiU as a political project in June 2015.