The Basque pre-campaign has not yet started and the PNV is concerned that the perceived lack of electoral tension could be prolonged, leading within a month to high abstention. Voting loyalty among the Jeltzale electorate, not in vain, is 23 points lower than in the case of EH Bildu and the general pool of undecided voters is still very high. Hence Imanol Pradales seeks a clash with EH Bildu, alluding in recent hours to the position of some of its leaders in the past with respect to ETA.
According to the latest data in this regard, relating to the latest EiTB Focus survey, 86% of those who voted for EH Bildu in 2020, in the elections to the Basque Parliament four years ago, will vote again for the Abertzale coalition, a percentage this , relative to voting loyalty, which in the case of PNV voters is reduced to 63%.
Among those who voted for EH Bildu, furthermore, only 9% appear as undecided and a notable percentage of voters who mention their intention to vote for other parties is not detected. In the case of the PNV, meanwhile, 6% of those who voted for them four years ago now think about voting for EH Bildu and 18% say they are undecided.
The Jeltzales, likewise, have been reading that their electoral decline in the municipal elections in May last year and the general elections in July was motivated by an abstention from punishment, rather than by a transfer of votes to other formations, so that the Mobilizing his electorate was presented as one of the keys to the pre-campaign.
At the moment, the general feeling is of lack of electoral tension, with the Basque political debate rather focused on issues such as the situation of the Basque Health Service-Osakidetza, the high cost of housing or, lately, on some controversies around the Ertzaintza and the police model. Furthermore, the global situation and, in Spain, the political news in Madrid and Barcelona capture a good part of the media interest. Not even the calendar helps us think about a tightening of the campaign in the coming days, with Holy Week and Easter in between and, in the case of Bizkaia, with a sporting event such as the Cup final between Athletic Club and Mallorca that attracts attention.
In this context, Imanol Pradales’ PNV seeks to heat up the pre-campaign and encourage the mobilization of its electorate against EH Bildu, fundamentally alluding to two issues. The first has to do with the model that, according to him he questions, is proposed by the Abertzale coalition: “the all-public model, which wants to put its hand in the pockets of the middle class.”
“It is very easy to say that the administration’s resources are infinite, that the solution is for the Government to control absolutely everything and pay for everything… Where are we going to get the money from? Who and how are we going to pay for the round? Careful! Because these are like the one who invites you to the round, but, when it comes to paying, if I have seen you I don’t remember. And we all ended up paying for the round.” Pradales denounces.
The other way in which it intends to stimulate this mobilization against EH Bildu has to do with allusions to the past of terrorism. The last one has arrived in the last few hours, following EH Bildu’s criticism of the Ertzaintza and the current police model.
After Otegi pointed out that the Ertzaintza had to recover “its founding spirit” from 40 years ago, Pradales asked himself “what political organization Otegi was active in 40 years ago”: “A political organization that targeted the Ertzaintza, Maybe? Has Mr. Otegi forgotten that?” he said.
The nationalist coalition, meanwhile, seems determined not to enter into melee, at the same time avoiding a critical reading of the past of violence, an issue that bothers them. EH Bildu will maintain, at least for the moment, a proactive tone focused on presenting proposals on the main citizen concerns. Last week they did it on housing and tomorrow they will make public their proposals on how to improve the Basque Health Service-Osakidetza.
