The crisis of representation that was experienced throughout Europe in the middle of the last decade left an unusual situation in the Basque Country in that political context. The ruling party, the PNV, not only withstood that shock, but ended up becoming stronger and reaching its electoral ceiling around 2019. Five years later, however, small earthquakes are being seen in Basque society, caused by local issues. and global fractures, which worry the jeltzale party, forced to offer urgent responses to a society, more disappointed than angry, that demands solutions.
Basque society has not gone from conformity to indignation in just five years, but it does appear concerned about pressing problems in important areas of social life. The demographic indicators of most studies portray a society, in general, aware of its levels of well-being, but demanding of public powers and demanding control over areas in which, as a result of significant social change and an economic model voracious global economy, the seams are beginning to show.
This is a trend, capable of moving governments throughout Europe, which in the Basque case calls for control mechanisms over areas ranging from housing prices to business uprooting, including the strain on the health system.
On the one hand, the data from the different demographic studies reveal a positive vision of Basque society regarding the socioeconomic situation. According to the Basque Sociometer, 79% of the population considers that the economic situation in Euskadi is “good” (70%) or “very good” (9%), while only 1% considers the economic situation “very good”. in Spain and 38% rate it as “good”. Furthermore, society values their personal situation with an average of 7 out of 10 and 73% say they trust the Basque Government, while the Lehendakari, Iñigo Urkullu, leaves office with a transversal approval of 68%.
“Poverty indicators tell us that 75%-80% of Basque society has a high level of well-being. And the Basque population itself perceives it that way,” explains José Antonio Oleaga, president of the Basque Association of Sociology and Political Science. When it comes to looking at the fine print of these studies, however, some movements are observed that advance in the swell.
Concern about the situation of the Basque Health System-Osakidetza has grown 30 points since before the pandemic, the percentage of the population that identifies housing as its main problem has doubled and, in a context of falling unemployment, concern about The quality of employment remains high. The issue of citizen insecurity, a perception linked to specific urban environments, even threatens to consolidate itself among the main concerns. These are local issues, linked in many cases to global phenomena and trends, and to which is added the perplexity with which society witnesses an extremely unstable world, punctuated by geopolitical instability, the energy crisis or the climate emergency.
“We do not see a situation of anger, but there is concern about pillars of Basque self-government such as Health or Education. Personally, I am concerned about the educational issue because in the 80s it was the great social equalizer,” adds Oleaga. These problems, furthermore, are amplified in a demanding society, even more so after the pandemic, and highly organized, with an important associative fabric and strong unions (Euskadi concentrates between 40% and 50%, depending on the year, of all strikes in Spain).
This trend, which a few years ago would have had other political consequences, now translates into that technical tie between the PNV and EH Bildu that the polls show, to the extent that the nationalist party has known how to dress as an alternative. There is no perceived social indignation, nor a total challenge to the PNV, which largely maintains its social muscle, but those who are beginning to value the nationalist coalition as an alternative are more than a few years ago.
“I don't see a crossroads or a change in cycle, but it is perceived that there are more people who think that the PNV may not be knowing how to reverse these problems. At the same time, there are more people, especially among young people, who think that perhaps EH Bildu can do it,” adds Oleaga.
In the opinion of political analyst Ion Ansa, the Basque context, “with its particularities,” accepts a global framework of analysis. “The welfare system is failing to deliver on some of the promises it made. This generates concern and questioning of the system. A part of society perceives that political parties have no real power to fulfill what they promise and to confront, in a democratic way, certain actors or forces. There is disaffection and people wonder who is really in charge,” he says.
In this context, Ansa considers that EH Bildu has been right in offering some answers. “There is a perceived crisis around the representation and mediation role of the parties, which are asked to do politics. Pello Otxandiano has been able to read it and show that it represents an option capable of acting. He has also succeeded in offering a calm change, like Mitterrand's force tranquille. A part of Basque society is there, in moderate concern or concern, not so much because things are very bad, but because of the feeling that they are getting worse,” he adds.
The accumulation of uncertainties also affects Basque society, concerned about the immediate environment and bewildered by global instability. In two weeks it will be known if he responds by asking for that “calm change” that Pello Otxandiano promises or the “stability and management experience” with which Imanol Pradales presents himself.
