But last November there was a major turnabout when the Democrats captured the office of county executive and control of the Board of Legislators - the first time it had ever held both branches of government.

Spain's political shift to the right is indeed a major turnabout after 13 years under Socialist rule.

It has also described the accord as a major turnabout in United States policy and a triumph of Cuban diplomacy that obliges Washington to stop treating departing Cubans as refugees fleeing political oppression.

It was a major turnabout for India in particular, since Pakistan has long said it would sign the treaty if India would.

But pointing to a major turnabout in the market, Ms. Fox and other brokers say that fewer buyers are willing to shoulder increasingly grueling gut renovations.

The news represented a major turnabout from the budget trauma that has so dominated the first half of Mayor Dinkins's term.

Philip Morris said it still opposed F.D.A. regulation of nicotine as a drug but its comments mark a major turnabout and come as legal and financial threats continue to surround the industry.

In the UK, a major turnabout was achieved with the ironic "It is a Škoda, honest" campaign, which was started in the early 2000s.

Although this may not sound like a big deal, it is a major turnabout from two months ago.

Still, it represents a major turnabout for the mayor, once one of the harshest critics of civilian oversight of the police.