The Lehendakari, Iñigo Urkullu, has begun the last decisive political course of his legislature, recovering the political initiative and betting on accentuating his own profile, in coherence with the reading that his party has made of the last two electoral setbacks. The Basque leader began the course on August 29, defending the push for a constitutional convention that would serve to reinterpret the Constitution in a plurinational manner, and this Thursday, in his first appearance in the Basque Parliament, he insisted on that idea, At the same time, he has denounced a “silent erosion” of Basque self-government that should be stopped by renewing the Basque Statute and recognizing the plurinational nature of the State.
The first appearance of the Lehendakari in the Basque Parliament at the beginning of each political year is always loaded with political content, although on this occasion, after two consecutive elections in recent months, nine months before the Basque elections and with a unique context in Spain as a whole, has been especially revealing of where the Basque leader, more than likely the PNV candidate next spring, and his party stand.
The Lehendakari's words reflect, first of all, a vocation to be a protagonist in the situation that is emerging in Spanish politics, trying to push the debate towards the question of plurinationality and, further, towards the participation of historical nationalities in the decisions of the European Union. Urkullu, furthermore, is expeditious in reengaging Basque society, accentuating, on the one hand, a social profile and defense of public affairs, and, on the other, taking advantage of the open window of opportunity, highlighting a defense of Basque self-government. and its development. In this section, he has also added a defense of the promotion of Basque in the face of successive judicial decisions that, de facto, have called into question its co-official nature, an issue of the language that the Jeltzale militancy itself missed, according to It was evident in the internal listening process of Entzunez eraiki.
Taking into account the open political situation in the State, with the inauguration of Pedro Sánchez as a backdrop, Urkullu has insisted on his idea of a "constitutional convention" to recognize the plurinational nature of the State and the development of self-government in Euskadi and other countries. historical communities without the need to modify the Constitution.
Specifically, it proposes a "constitutional convention" that allows an agreement to be made on an interpretation of the Constitution on the territorial articulation of the State, a re-reading that would be debated in the Cortes Generales to reach an agreement that would not require a change to the Magna Carta.
"It is a constructive and open proposal, formulated in 2018 and that can now find a favorable scenario for its development," he noted.
Iñigo Urkullu has also denounced the "serious erosion of powers" of the Basque self-government and has rejected the "state regulatory hegemony" in matters whose regulatory competence is exclusive to Euskadi, as well as the evolution of the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court "which is shown every increasingly restrictive" with regional powers.
The Lehendakari has also censured the "fear" that could be generated by the debate on the recognition of plurinationality and nations in the State within the Constitution, where a distinction is made between nationalities and regions.
Urkullu has defended that Spain is a “plurinational state in fact, although not in law”, in which there are majorities that “perceive themselves” as a nation. “Why can there only be one nation in a State? This is an exclusive vision. "I don't know what fear this debate can generate," he said.
Furthermore, the Lehendakari has asked the State not to hinder the institutionalized participation of Euskadi in the European Union and has advocated promoting the Atlantic macro-region in Europe to consolidate it before the end of the year.
The Lehendakari, finally, has defended moving forward in the creation of consensus for "a new status of Self-Government" in the Basque Parliament, aware of the difficulty of approving it in the remainder of the legislature. “This is not a favorable time to reach an agreement, but it is a favorable time to prepare for it,” he indicated.
Beyond the territorial issue, which looks at both Euskadi and Madrid, the Lehendakari's speech has had a relevant social accent, aware that the decline of the PNV reflected in the latest elections with the polls has a lot to do with management. of public services.
Thus, in terms of Health, the Lehendakari has committed to reducing the waiting lists in Osakidetza Primary Care from 48 hours and to increase presence from the current 61% to 70%.
In this sense, Urkullu has indicated that the Basque Government's objective is to "recover the figures prior to the start of the pandemic in six months." “The 65-day average delay in surgical interventions will drop from the 30-day wait for oncology patients. “Cardiac surgeries will go below 90 days,” he said.
In terms of housing, the Lehendakari has indicated that “the commitment in three years is to manage 10% of the total number of homes in the Basque Country, with a VPO park of more than 88,500 homes, with 40% for rent.” . Likewise, Urkullu has announced that the subsidies that remain pending to be paid by European funds will be covered by the budget of the Basque Government with an amount of 60 million.
Regarding employment, he has indicated that the priority will be to create quality employment with good salaries, with a focus on young people, vulnerable people and those over 55 years of age. In this sense, he has announced several programs aimed at promoting job placement policies, the hiring of young people or relief contracts.
Finally, in terms of youth and promoting birth rates, the Lehendakari has indicated that aid for youth emancipation will be launched, with a budget of 53 million, while aid will be consolidated for families with children under 3 years of age and Haurreskolak (schools 0-3) free of charge.
