The possibility that EH Bildu could return to the mayor's office of Pamplona was contemplated from the same election night, although it was in the summer, after the 23-J elections, when it was seen that it would probably be a matter of little time before he did so. The convergence of interests then became evident: the PSOE needed, both in the Congress and the Parliament of Navarra, the support of the nationalist coalition, which longed to recover this city. The motion of censure against the mayor of UPN, Cristina Ibarrola, will finally be consummated this afternoon, amid intense political and media noise.
Joseba Asiron will once again be mayor of Pamplona, as he was between 2015 and 2019, although with the difference that he then came to power with three fewer councilors from his party, but with the support, sufficient for the majority, of Geroa Bai and two formations from the Podemos space: Aranzadi and Izquierda-Ezkerra. Now, the equation to make an alternative to UPN possible requires the support of the councilors of the PSN, the brand of the socialists in Navarra. A relevant difference that has allowed the right to find a new flank to attack the PSOE.
After the demonstrations against the amnesty, Pamplona has become one of the PP's reference points within its opposition strategy. Alberto Núñez Feijóo took a mass bath there on December 17 and monopolized the spotlight, while UPN saw that his presence remained in the background. The popular ones denounce that the PSOE crosses “a red line” by granting for the first time a relevant institution like Pamplona to Bildu, something that had not happened until now, and they point out the long shadow of terrorism.
The socialists, meanwhile, limit this agreement to Pamplona and link it with a desire to guarantee governability, "after five years of paralysis" and "blockade" in the city, expressions used by Pedro Sánchez. In any case, it is evident that the socialists are taking a risk and it remains to be seen what effect this precedent has on their alliance strategy. It is not foreseeable that it will be exported imminently to Euskadi, where the PNV is a much more comfortable ally and which also plays a key role in Madrid, although it is evident that it has broken a taboo.
The socialists, furthermore, have taken this step in a particularly sensitive place, such as Navarra, although the fact that the future mayor is Joseba Asiron, a heterodox man who condemned terrorism when ETA killed, should allow them to counter certain attacks and put in place question so many verbal excesses. The historian from Pamplona, linked in the past to Eusko Alkartasuna (EA), already governed the city for four years without major tensions and Bildu is a group with a strong presence in Pamplona, a city of contrasts. The nationalist coalition won in May in all the neighborhoods in the north of the city, and in the Old Town it surpassed 50% of the votes. Just 100 meters away, in Ensanche, UPN exceeded 40% of support and won in most sections of the south of the city.
This Thursday, Bildu has called a party in the Town Hall square to celebrate Asiron's return to the mayor's office, while a few meters away a rally of the opposite nature will be held. It remains to be seen how events unfold after several weeks of great political and media tension. The PSOE denounced on Tuesday that the mayor had to relieve the now minister Elma Saiz, Tomás Rodríguez decided not to take office due to the “constant accusations, attacks and pressure” from UPN.
