Iñigo Urkullu will leave his office in Ajuria Enea before the summer, after three terms dedicated body and soul to the office of Lehendakari of the Basque Government, a position for which he seemed destined. The PNV has chosen to seek a twist in the script and will choose another candidate who can provide a coup d'état in the face of the close electoral struggle that it will maintain next spring with EH Bildu. The election of the next head of the list will be precipitated after news was leaked yesterday that advances the agur of an unconventional politician in times of liquid politics, a meticulous, serene and disciplined person to the point of exaggeration who managed to lead the PNV to its best results in more than three decades.
The PNV had planned to channel Urkullu's farewell in another way; However, the news broke early yesterday afternoon. It was published by the newspaper El Correo, pointing out that the Euzkadi Buru Batzar (EBB), the party's Executive, had informed the current Lehendakari of its decision not to repeat as a candidate in the next elections to the Basque Parliament. Over the weekend, La Vanguardia had already announced that the Jeltzale Executive was considering the possibility of betting on another candidacy. All eyes were on Sabin Etxea, which anticipated a relatively calm day, marked by the visit of the Junts leaders.
It was not so. The leak greatly upset both the Basque Government and the PNV leadership. The party Executive issued a note stating that it was not evaluating this information and referred to a meeting on Monday aimed at addressing the “process for configuring candidacies.” Other sources, of complete solvency, confirmed the call to Iñigo Urkullu.
The news cannot be understood without considering the latest electoral results of the PNV, both in the municipal and regional elections in May and in the general elections in July. Until last summer, the maxim that was transmitted was that Urkullu would have the last word: “if he wants to be the candidate, the party will bet on him,” they said. The Lehendakari began the political course, leaving hints that showed his willingness to continue. If he asked himself in his circle, the answer was affirmative: Urkullu looked strong and was betting on attending for the fourth time. Confirmation from the PNV was missing. It did not arrive at the Alderdi Eguna, the ideal day and setting. And neither did he in the following weeks. The reflection that the EBB began in the summer, after two electoral setbacks, had reached a conclusion: the party needed a stimulus that would generate enthusiasm and mobilize.
The Biscayan politician's journey as Lehendakari came to an end in a situation that bears similarities to the context that surrounded his arrival in Ajuria Enea, after passing through the leadership of the party. It is the story of the last political cycle in Euskadi. It began in 2011, the year of the end of ETA, with the brilliant emergence of Bildu in the municipal and regional elections of that year. The nationalist coalition, already with Aralar and with the Amaiur brand, improved results in the general elections of the same year and won seats in Congress from the PNV.
With a PSE without real possibilities of prolonging Patxi López's mandate, the elections were presented as a struggle marked by unprecedented equality between the two great nationalist formations. And that is where a brand image of the Lehendakari began to be built, which has proven extremely effective.
Urkullu's team knew how to read the political moment and fled from imposture and artifice. In a scenario marked by the economic crisis, Basque society was looking for a leader who was more reliable than charismatic, a lehendakari who offered a horizon of certainty. Urkullu's sobriety and a political and life career without dissonance were perfect for this. In the 2012 Basque elections he received 107,000 votes and six seats for EH Bildu. An incontestable victory and a gap that would widen four years later.
In the following years, the trident formed by Andoni Ortuzar, in Bilbao, at the head of the PNV Executive; Aitor Esteban, in Madrid, as spokesperson in Congress; and Iñigo Urkullu, in Vitoria-Gasteiz, at the head of the Basque Government; He led the party to its best results since the split with Eusko Alkartasuna (1986). The PNV annulled Bildu's attempted overthrow, led the new era without violence and was the traditional party that best endured the representation crisis that emerged around the years 2015-2016.
With the perspective that the current moment gives, it can be seen that it peaked in 2019. In the Basque elections of July 2020, marked by the pandemic, Urkullu reached its record number of seats, the current 31, although it dropped in votes. The high abstention was strictly linked to the pandemic; However, a subsequent analysis suggests that the PNV began to suffer wear and tear that has increased in the last two elections. That's where the reflection that ended yesterday with the call to Urkullu came from. Now, two unknowns remain to be resolved: the date of the elections – probably March – and, especially, who will take over.
