Today's Alderdi Eguna, Match Day, is not just another one for the PNV. The Jeltzales arrive in a climate of pessimism after the electoral setbacks of May 28 and July 23, and they want to show muscle to society and instil optimism among their own in the face of a political course that will conclude, predictably in June, with the Basque elections. The nationalists are also preparing to seek a leading role in the coming weeks in the context of the investiture negotiation of Pedro Sánchez, coordinating their agenda on some points with that of Junts, which today will be in the Alderdi Eguna.
Its general secretary, Jordi Turull, will be in charge of representing the independence party in the great festive and protest day of the PNV. Last year Josep Rull already attended the event, although Junts then gave a more discreet profile to the visit. This time it comes nine days after the meeting between Andoni Ortuzar and Carles Puigdemont and in a climate of obvious rapprochement. The PNV, meanwhile, has promoted a campaign on social networks to achieve massive attendance at the event being held this morning and there has been a bugle call from Sabin Etxea. Mood is important in politics, and Basque nationalists are aware that the pulse within the party is low.
The jeltzales also seek to combat a certain image, excessively institutional and linked to power, that has been installed in society. Ortuzar summarized it a few days ago when he stressed that they are “a party of people, a party-movement, more than a political formation of cadres or elites.” This is how they want to be seen, recovering a more popular image and a more demanding discourse at the national level, being protagonists in the defense of Basque self-government and the Basque language and culture, against those who perceive the formation as somewhat blurred. Therefore, the image that the Foronda camps can project today is important for the PNV in its most complicated electoral moment in 12 years.
The interventions of the Lehendakari, Iñigo Urkullu, and Andoni Ortuzar in recent weeks have set the roadmap for a vital course, and the starting line is the Alderdi Eguna. The objective is to prevent what a survey by El Mund o has drawn this week from happening, the defeat of EH Bildu to the PNV in a Basque election, even though both parties have questioned the credibility of the survey. From there, the PNV will have to pull its weight in the two battlefields where the fight will be fought ahead of the elections to the Basque Parliament: in Madrid and in Euskadi.
In the case of the Madrid scenario, events will precipitate imminently and the PNV will be demanding. It has been seen with the question of languages and the possible relegation of the official status of Basque in the European Union. The PNV is going to look for its moment and cannot allow itself to be rude at such a difficult time.
