The Lehendakari, Iñigo Urkullu, has not finished revealing his cards regarding the electoral call, although all his movements lead to thoughts of an imminent electoral call. This Monday, Ajuria Enea brought together the leaders of the two parties that have supported the Basque Government during the legislature, Andoni Ortuzar, for the PNV, and Eneko Andueza, for the PSE, who have made a satisfactory assessment of the mandate and have shown their harmony with a view to maintaining the alliance after the elections.
On this point there is little doubt, since Andueza has been repeating that they will not make an EH Bildu candidate lehendakari. This Monday’s meeting, in any case, serves to demonstrate this harmony and clear up doubts: the PNV and the PSE are determined to maintain their pacts in Euskadi after the elections. Hence, the main unknowns for the Basque elections are which party will be the first force and whether Jeltzales and Socialists will gain a majority.
This Monday’s appointment, in addition, has served to reinforce the idea that the call of elections by the Lehendakari is a matter of days, despite the fact that the mandate could be extended until July. The sequence of the last few days is eloquent. Last week, the Basque Parliament approved the last three laws of the legislature and a plenary session was held with a farewell flavor. This Monday, the two forces that have supported the Basque Government have taken stock. And, probably, the Lehendakari will meet with his Government Council on Monday to announce the dissolution of the Basque Parliament and the calling of elections for April 21.
The power to call elections lies with the Lehendakari himself, although he has been discussing the ideal date with the PNV leadership. The Jeltzales wanted to close the legislature by fulfilling a series of milestones: closing a very lengthy mandate at the legislative level, approving some strategic projects and, finally, closing the arrival of three powers, included in the Statute and whose transfer, within the deadline maximum of three months, was closed in the investiture pact of Pedro Sánchez. This last section is the only one that has not been completed, although Basque nationalists believe that it can be settled with a government in office.
The PNV has also assessed the needs linked to the candidacy of Imanol Pradales, a candidate still unknown. The final decision of the Basque nationalists has been that April 21, the birthday of their own candidate, is the ideal day, since they want to separate the Basque elections from the European ones that will be polarized around the PSOE-PP struggle.
In this sense, the meeting in Ajuria Enea has served to stage this end of the term and, in part, the end of the Urkullu era, after three terms at the head of the Basque Government. Through a message on social networks, the Lehendakari thanked the leaders of PNV and PSE for their “trust and loyal support”, while highlighting the “good fruits” of the coalition that has integrated the Basque Executive in the last two terms.
Andoni Ortuzar thanked Urkullu for his “dedication and performance throughout a legislature marked by extraordinarily adverse situations, such as the Covid-19 pandemic or the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.” Likewise, the leader of the PNV has made a positive assessment of “a legislature characterized by high legislative production and by the capacity of the Basque Government and the two parties that support it to reach agreements with the opposition”, despite having an absolute majority. .
Eneko Andueza, for his part, has recognized the “stability that the government agreement between PNV and PSE has provided to the institutions”, as well as “the sincere collaboration between both parties” and the work carried out in the last decade.
The socialist leader has reported that he has conveyed to the Lehendakari his “satisfaction with the work carried out, in especially difficult circumstances, such as the pandemic” and, “above all”, because they have managed to ensure that politics in the Basque Country “has focused on addressing the needs of Basques, a priority for socialists”.
