The lehendakari, Iñigo Urkullu, this Tuesday, and the president of the PNV, Andoni Ortuzar, on Friday, have inaugurated the Basque political course alluding to a probable scenario: the negotiation of the investiture of Pedro Sánchez may open an opportunity to rethink the model of State. His interventions, measured and meditated, think about the shielding and renewal of Basque self-government, but they also take the Catalan scene very much into account. In a context in which ERC and EH Bildu go hand in hand, the PNV thinks about restoring the bridges with Junts, which will be essential, and aspires, if possible, to align agendas in pursuit of common objectives. The path traveled is still limited, but there is a will to meet again.
The PNV looks at the new political scenario, and at Junts, from Vitoria-Gasteiz, Bilbao and also from Madrid. From the capital of Álava, the seat of the Lehendakaritza, Urkullu has recovered the initiative this week with this proposal to rethink the State model through a singular instrument such as the constitutional convention. It is a formula, with a tradition in the Anglo-Saxon political world and also seen in the European Union, which seeks a new consensus, in a plurinational way, within the framework of the Constitution.
He thinks more about “reinterpreting” the Magna Carta than about reforming it and he takes the Catalan scenario very much into account. The lehendakari makes a general reading of the territorial problems, pays attention to the numbers that are needed to achieve majorities and thinks about seeking joint and far-reaching solutions, since a renewal of the Basque self-government framework would not require such a deep approach.
From the team that surrounds the lehendakari, however, no bridges have been built towards Junts. Iñigo Urkullu kept a great distance from the process and, despite the fact that he tried to mediate in moments of greatest tension, some of his statements distancing himself from the unilateral path were not liked in the world of independence. There are no lines of communication between Ajuria Enea and Waterloo, to the point that the lehendakari and Carles Puigdemont have not spoken for years, according to fully reliable sources.
The relationship from Sabin Etxea, the PNV headquarters located in the Bilbao neighborhood of Abando, is more fluid. CiU was a historical ally of the jeltzales, and Junts maintains among its leaders some historical militants of the formation. Andoni Ortuzar and other members of the party leadership have had a political relationship and friendship with Junts leaders such as Jordi Turull, Josep Rull or Francesc Homs for decades, whom they have known since their youth. This relationship has proven to have a consistency that is proof against political disagreements and deep strategic differences. The phones are still giving signal in both directions. “Even in the most tense moments there was a very solid base that favored trust and understanding. Now, yes, the relationship is more fluid politically ”, indicate sources close to Sabin Etxea. Although during the previous legislature the strategies of the PNV and Junts did not find points of convergence, the situation today is quite different.
The PNV does not want an electoral repetition and, of course, as it has actively and passively stressed, it will not support the investiture of Núñez Feijóo. His only alternative is to seek to reissue a government of a progressive nature that opens the door to plurinationality. He wants that option to prosper and he will be constructive and purposeful. This path, in any case, will not work without Junts in the equation, and the PNV will be proactive in order to convince its former allies.
The jeltzales have two ways to connect with Junts: the Bilbao way, through Ortuzar and a part of the party leadership, and the Madrid way, through their spokesman in Congress, Aitor Esteban. The relations between the deputies of the PNV and Junts are positive and have signs of intensifying. There is a certain harmony, although the depth of that relationship depends on what the Ortuzar-Turull connection validates. The last word, however, belongs to Puigdemont's entourage. There is no shortcut to Waterloo, all roads go through Barcelona first. For this reason, the long-lasting relationship between, on the one hand, the Burukides with the highest command in the PNV, the majority from Biscay, born between 1960 and 1962, and linked to the party since their youth, and, on the other, the converging old guard today in Junts it acquires importance.
The first results of this reunion between jeltzales and Junts have already been seen in Congress. The PNV and those of Puigdemont came to an understanding in the negotiation to form the Table of Congress. The objective, at least that of the Basques, is that this understanding is not an anecdote.
From the point of view of the PNV, delving into this rapprochement has obvious advantages. 10 months after the Basque elections, the jeltzales want to highlight their own profile and regain prominence. The PNV, which is coming off two electoral hits, seeks to reconnect with a part of its electorate and boast a capacity for initiative and influence in Madrid that is superior to that of EH Bildu. But his roadmap has little to do if Junts does not agree. The party also wants to once again have a strategic ally in Catalonia, after the PDECat experience did not bear fruit.
Meanwhile, a part of the militancy of the Catalan formation aspires to recover the possibility and is aware that the PNV proposes a feasible path within the Constitution. The Lehendakari and Ortuzar have spoken this week about Catalonia, including the Galeusca pacts. They have in mind a possible formula for reinterpreting the State model, but for it to prosper they must reconnect with their old converging friends.
