The possibility that EH Bildu could return to the mayor’s office of Pamplona was considered from the same election night, although it was in the summer, after the elections of 23-J, when it was seen that it would probably be a matter of not long before he returned. The convergence of interests then became evident: the PSOE needed, both in Congress and in the Parliament of Navarre, the support of the Abertzale coalition, which longed to recover the city. The motion of censure against the UPN mayor, Cristina Ibarrola, will finally be consummated this afternoon, amid intense political and media noise.

Joseba Asiron will be mayor of Pamplona again, as he was from 2015 to 2019, although with the difference that he then came to power with three councilors less than his training but with enough support: Aranzadi and Esquerra-Ezkerra. Now, the equation to make an alternative to UPN possible needs the support of PSN councilors, the brand of socialists in Navarre. An important difference that has allowed the right to find a new flank to attack the PSOE.

After the demonstrations against the amnesty, Pamplona has become one of the points of reference for the PP within its opposition strategy. Alberto Núñez Feijóo received a mass bath there on December 17 and grabbed the spotlight, while UPN saw that his presence was in the background. The popular people denounce that the PSOE crosses “a red line” because for the first time it grants an institution of relevance like Pamplona to Bildu, something that had not happened until now, and they point to the long shadow of terrorism.

The Socialists, meanwhile, circumscribe this agreement in Pamplona and link it to a desire to guarantee governability “after five years of paralysis” and “blockage” in the city, expressions used by Pedro Sánchez. In any case, it is clear that the socialists are taking a risk and it is necessary to see the effect that this precedent has on their strategy of alliances. It is not foreseeable that it will be exported imminently to Euskadi, where the PNB is a much more comfortable ally and which, likewise, plays a key role in Madrid, although it is clear that it has broken a taboo.

The socialists, moreover, have taken the step in a particularly sensitive place, such as Navarre, although the fact that the future mayor is Joseba Asiron, a heterodox who condemned terrorism when ETA was killing, should allow them to counter certain attacks and question so many verbal excesses. The Pamplona historian, linked in the past to Eusko Alkartasuna (EA), already governed the city for four years without any major tensions, and Bildu is a formation with a strong presence in Pamplona, ??a city of contrasts. The Abertzale coalition prevailed in May in all the neighborhoods in the north of the city, and in Casco Viejo it got over 50% of the votes. Just 100 meters away, in the Ensanche, UPN exceeded 40% of the supports and won in most sections in the south of the city.

This Thursday, Bildu has called a party in the town hall square to celebrate the return of Asiron to the mayor’s office, while a few meters away a rally of the opposite sign will be held. It remains to be seen how events unfold after several weeks of political and media tension. The PSOE denounced on Tuesday that the councilor who had to relieve the current minister Elma Saiz, Tomás Rodríguez, decided not to take office due to the “pointing, attacks and constant pressure” of UPN.