The Basque Country has just witnessed a historic election in which separatist left-wing alliance EH Bildu achieved its best result yet. After nearly 95 percent of the votes were counted, the alliance won 27 seats – six more than in the last vote in 2020, when they had won 21 seats. However, despite their success, the separatists remain in opposition as there are signs that the government coalition between conservative regional party PNV and socialists (PSOE) will continue.
According to the available results, the PNV and PSOE have an absolute majority of 39 out of the total 75 seats in the parliament in Vitoria. While both parties are nationalist and demand more self-determination for the Basques from central Madrid, there is a difference between them: while EH Bildu advocates for full independence of the region, PNV demands more autonomy but not full separation. Iñigo Urkullu, who has been leading PNV since 2012 and has been head of government since then, did not present himself as a top candidate this time but is likely to be replaced by his party colleague Imanol Pradales.
The terrorist organization ETA had fought for an independent Basque country for decades through acts of violence that resulted in over 3,000 attacks and claimed around 857 lives and injured nearly 2,600 people. In April 2018, ETA announced its dissolution after decades of violence against Spanish forces and civilians alike. Despite this history of terrorism, today’s Basque Country is one of Spain’s wealthiest autonomous regions due to its strong economy based on manufacturing industries such as steel production.
