Two months after the name of Imanol Pradales was revealed as the PNV's bet to take over from Iñigo Urkullu, the Basque sociologist has been officially designated this Saturday as a candidate for lehendakari for the jeltzale party. The still deputy for Infrastructure of Bizkaia becomes from this moment the fundamental reference of the Basque nationalist formation to try to get back on its feet, after the latest electoral setbacks, and to retain the Lehendakaritza, in a tough struggle with EH Bildu.
The Jeltzales have opted for a public event in Durango, packed with militants and sympathizers, to make the appointment official, something that is expressive of the needs identified by the Jeltzale formation in the race for Ajuria Enea. The event has also served to announce the name of the head of the list for the European elections, which will be Oihane Agirregoitia, 43 years old, as well as to know in detail the lists and the order of the starting positions for the Basque elections. .
Along with Pradales, first for Bizkaia, the young Joseba Díez Antxustegi, 31, will be the head of the list for Álava, while Bakartxo Tejeria, candidate to revalidate her position as president of the Basque Parliament, will head the list for Gipuzkoa.
In the meeting, however, the PNV has not shed light on the date of the elections to the Basque Parliament. They will probably be on April 21, although the Lehendakari will not announce the date until the time comes to dissolve the Basque Chamber, so it is very possible that he will make an announcement until the end of February.
At the event in Durango, the Basque nationalists have sought to close ranks around Pradales, since Urkullu's replacement did not go as they would have wanted, and they have also sought to send a message of hope, of comeback, to a certain extent, after the latest election results. From this moment on, all attention is focused on the race towards Ajuria Enea. The priority is to build a solid image around the candidate, still very little known, and an exciting story around the party's political proposal.
The president of the group, Andoni Ortuzar, who served as the “opening act” this Saturday, wanted to put the militancy on alert. “We are excited. Many people, in addition to the other parties. Here and in Madrid they want us,” he noted.
In this sense, the Jeltzale leader has demanded extra mobilization from his militants: “When they are held, we are going to win the elections. I do not have any doubt; The question is by how much. This is where we must emphasize. You should notice the difference (…). We need you more mobilized than ever. “More attentive and attentive than ever.”
Ortuzar has also highlighted a message of renewal, an issue that he has insisted on and that has been reflected in the renewal in the lists, while highlighting that his party “has always known how to interpret the new times and the new ambitions of the Basque society.”
Joseba Díez Antxustegi has sought to reflect that commitment to renewal mentioned by Ortuzar with a fiery and highly applauded speech, in which she has claimed the party's capacity for renewal and to tune in to the problems of Basque society. It seems evident that the Jeltzales have understood where the next elections are being played.
On this Saturday, in any case, all eyes were focused on Imanol Pradales. The sociologist from Biscay has made his debut in a field in which he was not known with a very personal speech, in which he had a hard time holding back his emotion.
Pradales has recalled his humble origins in the Mamariga neighborhood, in Santurtzi, the commitment of his parents, Spanish speakers and originally from families from Burgos, to commit politically to the PNV in the years of the Transition or how small is felt next to “Jose Antonio Agirre, Leizaola, Garaikoetxea, Ardanza, Ibarretxe and Urkullu”, all of them lehendakaris of the Basque Government.
Beyond this story, Pradales has made a general reading about the political moment that the Basque Country is experiencing within a global context, drawing on his training as a sociologist.
“The world has changed profoundly. In 2008, the biggest financial crisis in our modern history broke out. Since then, we have known Brexit, Trump, the pandemic, a war in Ukraine, the energy crisis, inflation or the heartbreaking conflict in Gaza... Everything is moving very quickly. We have plenty of shocks and lack security. We live in a time of transitions: digital, energy, social... In Europe we are witnessing a weakening of the middle classes and our welfare model (...) When we feel vulnerable, frustration and fear appear. We look for culprits. And it worries me… because it is the perfect breeding ground for the rise of left-wing and right-wing populism,” he noted.
From there, he has committed to seeking “new solutions” in this global context, “striving to agree with the different, involve society or seek community spirit.” “I am committed to working for a Euskadi of well-being, reliable and global, in which each person can develop their life project in freedom. A reference for stability and that deploys all its political power at the European and international level. A Euskadi of well-being with a soul and its own voice in the world,” she noted.
Pradales has also alluded to each and every one of the problems that appear among the main concerns of Basque society, from health to care or education. Finally, the Jetzale candidate for Lehendakari has committed to taking advantage of “the window of opportunity of variable geometry so that the Basque Country has more and better self-government and is the master of its own destiny.”
