The announcement on Tuesday by the Basque premier, Patxi López, that the region will hold early elections on October 21 was a reminder of how much things have changed since he took power in 2009. Since López entered a governing partnership with the conservative Partido Popular, the terrorist group ETA has been increasingly weakened, culminating in last autumn’s announcement by the group that it was laying down its arms for good. The date of the scheduled elections – a year and a day after ETA’s announcement – is no coincidence. López himself was not coy about underscoring his government’s part in the new atmosphere of peace that the northern region is enjoying. “We have done what we … [Read more...] about Basque Country enters an era of uncertainty
Patxi López
Patxi López
The Basque Country’s Socialist premier isn’t the most attention-grabbing politician in Spain. But he could make a case for being the most effective in difficult circumstances. When he formed a regional government in 2009 and broke the three-decade rule of the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), few expected his administration to last. Given that the Socialist Party’s partner in government was its traditional foe the conservative Popular Party (PP), it looked more like a suicide pact. But despite their differences and nationalist hostility, the pragmatic López and PP moderate Antonio Basagoiti have stayed together long enough, at least, to see ETA declare the end of its terror campaign, and to … [Read more...] about Patxi López
A Basque pact to save Spain’s economy
In the spring of 2009, the Basque Socialists (PSE), led by Patxi López, closed a groundbreaking governing pact in the northern region with the Popular Party (PP). It was the first time in the democratic period that the Basque Country was to be governed by non-nationalists and the deal was also remarkable in that it united Socialists with the PP, two parties that on a national level seemed locked in a tribal relationship of mutual antagonism. At the time, many forecast a short life for the new Basque government. This was partly because of the political differences between the two parties in Madrid, but also because of the bitter reaction to the pact on the part of the PNV Basque … [Read more...] about A Basque pact to save Spain’s economy