The replacement of Iñigo Urkullu as candidate for lehendakari has been followed in recent hours by several news items in the PNV that represent, this time, a decided commitment to generational change. The party's MEP, Izaskun Bilbao, announced on Saturday that she is ending her time in this institution, after 14 years in the Brussels chamber. This Monday, while the spotlight remained on EH Bildu's commitment to Pello Otxandiano, the PNV announced the names of those who will make up its lists for the Basque elections next spring and the European Parliament elections on June 9. Among the many absences, the most notable has been that of Joseba Egibar, president of the party in Gipuzkoa and parliamentarian since December 1990.
In this way, the Jeltzales continue a generational change that actually began gradually last spring, with the candidacies for the municipal and regional elections, and that will conclude, in all probability, next summer, with the most possible exit. from Andoni Ortuzar of the party leadership.
The objective of the changes that began to be seen during last spring's elections was twofold: to increase the presence of women in the most relevant positions and to promote generational change.
The PNV replaced two of the three candidates for general deputies and introduced two women: Elixabete Etxanobe and Eider Mendoza. The first clearly won the elections, despite the fact that the Jeltzales lost votes in their Biscayan fiefdom, and is the current general deputy of the territory, while Mendoza was unable to overcome EH Bildu in Gipuzkoa, which in fact achieved a clear victory, although She managed to be invested thanks to the support of her PSE partners and, also, thanks to the PP vote in the investiture.
In the candidacies for the capitals of the Autonomous Community of Euskadi, the PNV replaced only the candidate in Vitoria-Gasteiz, who was the outgoing mayor Gorka Urtaran. In that case, the bet translated into an unmitigated electoral failure: former councilor Beatriz Artolazabal was fourth, behind EH Bildu, PSE and PP, so the Jeltzales lost the mayor's office.
The unequal results of that bet and the subsequent electoral setback in the July elections have not led the PNV to abandon its commitment to generational change. Quite the contrary, the Jeltzales have undertaken the most complicated replacement, that of Lehendakari Urkullu, who will pass the baton as candidate to Imanol Pradales with very high approval ratings.
It is evident that the announcement has not been handled as the Jeltzales would have wanted, although Urkullu has done his part to avoid fractures and has begun to row in favor of Pradales.
Now, Urkullu's replacement has been followed by Izaskun Bilbao, a historic MEP of the party who announced on Saturday that she is ending her time in the institution.
The PNV announced yesterday the list for the elections to the European Parliament, although without ordering the 32 names that make it up, so it is not known who will be the candidate to replace Bilbao. On the list are the philosopher Daniel Innerarity, the jurist Xabier Ezeizabarrena or the EBB member Mikel Burzako.
In parallel, the PNV yesterday sent its proposal to draw up the lists to the Basque Parliament for Álava, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa, with twenty candidates for each territory.
The absences are more striking in this case. Of the eight PNV councilors in the Basque Government, only Nerea Melgosa, the head of Equality, Justice and Social Policies, appears on the lists. Although it is not essential to be a parliamentarian to be a councilor, as precedents show, the absence of Arantxa Tapia or Josu Erkoreka, who were on the 2020 lists, is striking. In addition, historical figures such as Iñigo Iturrate or Iñaki Agirre disappear. However, the most notable absence is that of Joseba Egibar, a Basque parliamentarian for more than three decades and spokesperson for the Jeltzales in the chamber.
Among those who are there, the presence of Bakartxo Tejería, president of the Basque Parliament since 2012, stands out, the emergence of Markel Olano, deputy general of Gipuzkoa until last spring, or the presence of two members of the EBB such as Xabier Barandiaran and María Eugenia Arrizabalaga.
The PNV responds with this commitment to generational change to the electoral setbacks suffered in May and last July, and decisively addresses a pending issue that worried the party leadership. The Jeltzales had the feeling that, if they had waited four more years, a younger generation of militants, born in the 70s and 80s, could have been burned, and that, with some exceptions, had not accessed the political front line. during the last cycle, marked by the leadership of the shortlist formed by Andoni Ortuzar at the head of the party, Iñigo Urkullu as lehendakari and Aitor Esteban as the man in Madrid.
The Entzunez eraiki “active listening” process, promoted by the PNV a year ago, concluded that the party needed, among other things, a generational renewal, to transmit an image of greater closeness and to decisively address the arrival of women to the first line of political representation.
The Jeltzales have responded, in part, to these demands. Now, it remains to be seen how voters respond to this change that began last spring and will last more than a year.
