The president of the Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ-PNV) Andoni Ortuzar (Abando, Bizkaia, 1962), is committed to undertaking the renewal of the Guernika Statute as soon as possible and for its validation in a referendum, a task that despite being included in the legislature agreement signed by the Basque party with Pedro Sánchez in 2019, has not been undertaken because "it is true that it has not been a normal legislature" and "we have not had an easy time in politics", admits Ortuzar, as a consequence of the outbreak of the pandemic and, now, the war in Ukraine.
"I think it is a folder that must be opened," Ortuzar pointed out in a new edition of Foros de Vanguardia that has dealt with one of the issues that have marked the political agenda in recent years. Under the title 'A possible horizon for the national recognition of Catalonia and the Basque Country', the Basque leader indicated that the renewal of the Gernika Statute "is a folder that needs a favorable political climate to be opened with guarantees." "We cannot go to a negotiating table with daggers" but rather "we must create a favorable political climate for success or for dialogue to be possible", he pointed out.
And in this process, the PNV would also like to "talk about the national recognition of Euskadi". In this case, Ortuzar has shown that the Constitution speaks of nationalities, regions, autonomous communities, which are in his opinion "ambiguous terms", while his party would like to "talk about how the different national identities are articulated".
But in addition to clarifying and "shielding" powers with the State and trying to achieve national recognition for the Basque Country, Ortuzar believes that the State itself should undertake a reform on the "arbitrator" that settles conflicts between the central administration and the autonomous communities, because The Constitutional Court, through its rulings and its "very centralist" profile, has been "reducing" the margin for the autonomies.
"The referee cannot be someone who is always from Real Madrid," the Basque leader complained. Although he believes that "it is a good body to settle constitutional rights", it is not, on the other hand, to settle conflicts between territories and institutions, which is why Ortuzar has opted for "an evolution, a reform or even the emergence of a new nucleus of decision for cases of conflict.
In the case of Catalonia, Ortuzar has foreseen that the community will still go through periods of "scares" as a consequence of the 'procés', but Ortuzar has said that he is willing to face the national question hand in hand with Catalonia as long as the independence movement continues to park the confrontation and betting on dialogue. Thus, he has promised to contribute to "everything that is usable, in dynamics that we can generate together, in the climate to be generated so that things flow in Madrid unlike previous moments". And it is that the president of the PNV believes that to reach the top of the mountain it is better to take a detour than to fall apart halfway in a straight line.
Pragmatism continues to be the seal of political identity of the PNV despite the fateful period of the Ibarretxe Plan, while in Catalonia, among the heirs of the CiU, a dispute is still being waged between those who are committed to resuming that tradition or continuing along the channels of confrontation propped up during the 'process'. While post-convergence, very present in Ortuzar's talk, bifurcates its roadmap along divergent paths, ERC seems to have monopolized the commitment to pragmatism. Ortuzar is aware of this, but also that Catalonia is entering a new political cycle where the independence movement has to finish repositioning itself. That is why in the forum he did not want to marry either of the two pro-independence parties, although he threw a cloak over the claims that Catalonia is making about the current financing system.
"The current financing system is not fair with Catalonia. There the Government is judge and party" and "there has not been a process of thinning out enough central administration." In short, the State "has been left with more money than it needs for its powers" when public services are offered by the autonomous communities. However, Ortuzar has advised Catalonia to thoroughly analyze what would be the best model for Catalonia because he has said that he is not convinced that the Basque quota is the ideal. However, "the difference between being a nation has to be reflected in how it is financed," he pointed out.
In the Catalan folder, Ortuzar also referred to the judicialization of politics. In this sense, he assured that the judiciary has been the only one that has not made the transition and, together with this idea, he referred to the situation of the former president of the Generalitat, Carles Puigdemont. Regarding him, he has affirmed that his situation must be resolved "promptly and in a reasonable manner" because he considers that the person who is doing the most damage is Spanish democracy and the good international name of the State.
The leader of the PNV has also criticized that "the problem with the government's story is that it converts tweets into laws or wants to convert them into laws", has made ugly that there is an excessive ideologization of politics, pointing out that this is more pointed out on the part of the Government of United We Can.
Ortuzar has maintained that his relationship with Alberto Núñez-Feijóo's PP can clearly be improved, but he has added that this is not due to his leader, and has added that "the fight with Vox makes the relationship difficult" between the popular and the PNV , since his party will never agree with that of Santiago Abascal.
Javier Godó, count of Godó, attended the conference - conducted by the deputy to the presidency of Grupo Godó, the journalist Ramon Rovira and with the participation of the deputy director of La Vanguardia, Lola García and the delegate in Madrid of RAC1 Jordi Armenteras - and editor of La Vanguardia; the CEO of Grupo Godó, Carlos Godó; the director of Libros de Vanguardia and Vanguardia Dossier, Ana Godó; Jordi Juan, director of La Vanguardia; Jaume Peral, director of RAC1; the Director of Institutional Relations of Grupo Fundación La Caixa, Sergi Loughney; Antonio Llardén, president of Enagás; Manuel Brufau, director general of Indra; the president of Foment del Treball, Josep Sánchez Llibre; the lawyer of Colls Advocats, Josep Antoni Duran i Lleida; the president of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, José Luis Bonet; the businessman Luis Conde; the vice-president of the Equestrian Circle, Enric Lacalle; the managing partner of PWC Catalunya, Ignacio Marull; the president of the RACC, Josep Mateu; that of Port Aventura, Arturo Mas-Sardà; the director of vertical businesses of Telefónica España, José Manuel Casas; the director general of Basf España, Carles Navarro; Aurora Catà, external adviser to the Repsol Board of Directors, and the president of INMA, Andrés Soldevilla.
A large representation of Catalan politics also attended the forum, among which the Minister of Social Rights, Carles Campuzano, stood out; the leader of the PSC, Salvador Illa; the general secretary of Junts, Jordi Turull; the party's candidate for mayor of Barcelona, Xavier Trias; the president of the parliamentary group Albert Batet; the former Minister of Economy Jaume Giró; the former Minister of Justice Germà Gordó; the former advisor to the Presidency Francesc Homs; the president of the PNC, Marta Pascal and the leader of United for Avançar, Ramon Espadaler.
