Basque separatist party fuels clash between PSOE, PP

Support provided by Basque pro-independence party EH Bildu to socialist party PSOE’s (S&D) government sparked a bitter dispute between Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and right-wing PP (EPP) chief Alberto Núñez Feijóo on Monday due to the Basque party’s terrorist past.

Euskal Herria Bildu (EH Bildu, “Reunite Euskal Herria” in Basque) is a coalition of pro-independence and nationalist Basque parties. Founded in 2012, it has four MPs in parliament, and its leader Arnaldo Otegi is a former ETA member -a terrorist organisation that sought Basque independence.

ETA murdered around 840 people in its 60 years of terror, from 1958 to 2018, and the wounds of the relatives of the terrorist group’s victims are still present in Basque society.

Many PP members consider EH Bildu to be the “political heir” of ETA and have repeatedly accused Sánchez of governing with “former terrorists”, even though the Basque party participates in democratic institutions.

The PP’s campaign focuses on accusing PSOE of governing “with EH Bildu”, as the Basque party has helped the progressive government pass laws multiple times. “What does it mean to govern with [EH] Bildu? Are there [EH] Bildu ministers in the government?” Sánchez rhetorically asked during a radio interview with OndaCero.

“We have passed more decrees with the PP than with (EH) Bildu, and nobody says that I govern with the PP”, he added.

While Sánchez stresses that “(…) there is no government agreement with Bildu, but rather a parliamentary dynamic to move forward with social advances”, said Feijóo, adding that if he comes to power, he would review – and perhaps repeal – all laws approved with EH Bildu’s support.

From his side, the leader of EH Bildu Arnaldo Otegui warned that a PP-Vox government would “produce (right-wing) Basque and Catalan separatists on an industrial scale”.

Broken promises

Sánchez also admitted during the interview that he had broken some of his promises, such as not pardoning any Catalan independentist leader, and reiterated that he would not facilitate the investiture of Alberto Núñez Feijóo if the PP is the most-voted party to prevent Vox from entering the government.

The socialist leader acknowledged that he may have made mistakes during his term in office, among them the sexual consent law – which backfired and saw more than 1000 sex offenders with their prison sentences reduced – but assured that he has always tried to keep his word and be sincere.

With elections scheduled for 23 July, polls suggest the PP would win with an estimated 33% of the vote and 136 seats, while PSOE would lose up to 14 deputies and remain at 106, El PAIS reported.

(Fernando Heller | EuroEFE.EURACTIV.es)