BASQUE COUNTRY - BAD DAY FOR DEMOCRACY AS GERRYMANDERED GOVT TAKES OFFICE

A new President took over control of the Autonomous Basque Community Parliament in the state of Spain last week.

Arantza Quiroga, who is the first Conservative (Popular Party, PP) President and only the second woman to hold the office in the Basque Country, officially took up the position in place of Izaskun Bilbao of the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) on Friday April 3rd 2009. Quiroga's appointment followed an unprecedented pact between the Conservatives and the Socialists (PSE) who agreed on Wednesday April 2009 to join forces to form a coalition government.

The PP and PSE are uneasy allies, but their coalition government means that the PNV is relegated to the opposition party for the first time in 30 years. A number of factors led to the PNV loosing the presidency of the Basque Government, which includes the decision by Eusko Alkartasuna (EA) to break their alliance with the PNV and the banning of two left wing nationalist political parties - Democracy 3 Million (D3M) and Askatasuna - by the Spanish courts before the 1st March elections. The PNV nevertheless still have a majority of the seats in the Parliament with 30 compared to the PSE with 25 seats and the PP with 13 seats . Despite their ban, D3M and Askatasuna still managed to gain 100,000 votes by people who chose to vote for the two parties regardless. In her first speech to Parliament Quiroga said that the new Parliament was «fully democratic» and a reflection of «a pluralistic society», despite claims by nationalists that a significant part of Basque society had been left out with the banning of their preferred political representatives.

(Article compiled for Celtic News by Rhisiart Tal-e-bot, Celtic League General Secretary)

J B Moffatt Director of Information Celtic League

08/04/09