The battle waged by the PNV and EH Bildu intensified in the electoral campaign of 28-M, it became tense last Saturday, in the constitution of city councils, and, on the eve of the general elections, it does not seem that the tension between the two formations will go down. A good sample has been lived in the last hours, as a result of a video that the Abertzale coalition has released on social networks. In it, the formation is defined as “anti-fascist protection” and suggests that on the side that is fighting, it is understood that “fascist”, would be PP, Vox and the PNV.
The spot in question is a brief audiovisual of barely 30 seconds in which an anti-fascist protection “against a heat wave from the south and the extreme right” is promoted, obviously fictitiously, which “intends to ruin our vacations”. From there, it offers a “solution” with “triple action” against “mosquitoes, drones and lame flies”. At that point, the video shows images of Santiago Abascal, Alberto Núñez Feijóo and Aitor Esteban, spokesman for the PNV in Congress during the last legislature and number 1 of the jeltzales for Bizkaia.
The spot ends by pointing out that the coalition repels those who “face the sun” and that it “protects the most disadvantaged”, underlining this option as “the anti-fascist vote”. The audiovisual has had more than 150,000 views on Twitter alone and has generated endless reactions.
On the political level, Aitor Esteban has responded that it is an “insult to the Basque people”. “Placing the PNV on the side of fascism is an insult to our People and, above all, to generations of Basque men and women who have identified with a party that has always, at all times in history, been in defense of human rights. , freedom and democracy”, he pointed out.
“Branding the PNV together with Vox, a party that wants to outlaw us, is an insult to the intelligence of this people and to generations of Basque men and women who have identified with the Basque Nationalist Party. The PNV has always, and I say always, been in defense of human rights, freedom and democracy, not everyone can say the same”, he added in an interview on Radio Euskadi.
From the PNV account they have accused the abertzale formation of promoting a “very dirty” campaign and of muddying the pre-election debate.
The accusations of muddying the debate and of not respecting ‘fair play’ in the political debate were also recurring during the 28-M electoral campaign. At that time, however, it was the representatives of EH Bildu who accused the PNV of avoiding the debate of ideas, especially after disseminating some data on the assets of EH Bildu deputy Oskar Matute that were denied.
The fact is that the confrontation between the two main forces of Basque politics is total and has no sign of abating. The Abertzale coalition feels strong after the results in the municipal and regional elections, and considers the 23-J elections as a second round. His great objective is to put the PNV in check again, already looking at the Basque elections next year, and for this he seeks to mobilize his electorate with this call for an “anti-fascist vote.” In the Basque code, he speaks of “cycle change” and presents himself as the alternative in a new political period that would be characterized by the real possibilities of alternation.
The PNV, for its part, has made some self-criticism of its results in the municipal elections and, above all, has sought to go from the screen in relation to its results on 28-M. The pact with the PSOE will allow him to maintain a good part of his power in city councils and councils, and he wants to avoid a new setback on July 23. Facing that appointment, however, he wants to be more PNV than ever and offer himself as the useful vote in order to defend the interests of the Basques in the Congress of Deputies, the discourse that they have traditionally used to mobilize their electorate in the general elections. These elections in which the polarization between the forces of a state nature supposes an added difficulty for the abertzales formations.
