Steps Forward on the road to Independence – A review of Galician and Basque Parliamentary Elections

“Election after election EH Bildu builds and keeps moving forward”, this was the message from Bildu General Secretary Arnaldo Otegi the morning after results which must have sent shivers down the spines of any ardent Spanish nationalist. The steady and consistent growth of EH Bildu continued to bear fruit on the 12th July. In Galicia, the growth of support for BNG was far more dramatic.

Bildu consolidated their position as the second largest party in the Legebiltzarra. Their percentage of votes, along with the number of seats won, are both new records for the Abertzale Left. While O Bloque are now the second largest party  in the Galician Parliament, rising from fourth place in the last election. Their 19 seats in the Galician Parliament is also a record high for the party.

There are many similarities between the Basque and Galician elections and those that happened in Ireland earlier this year. Despite their strong performances, Bildu and the BNG will ultimately be locked out of power. The PNV (a Basque version of Fianna Fáil) will continue to ignore Bildu as they have done following previous election results, preferring to form a coalition government with PSE, a regional version of the party of current Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. While in Galicia the Pro-Spanish Partido Popular (members of the European People's Party alongside Fine Gael) have clung onto their overall majority in the Galician Parliament. A common thread here is that change is being delayed for now, but cannot be delayed forever. The key for both parties moving forward now is to provide a strong and robust opposition to the PNV and PP, in effect to take on the mantles of governments-in-waiting. 

One material factor that certainly benefited both Bildu and the BNG was the continued terminal decline of Podemos and its various offshoots and splits. After a very damaging split of its electoral alliance in Galicia, the party now has zero representatives in the Galician Parliament. Pablo Iglesias has said his movement will have to learn from their mistakes. However this remains to be seen as the party structure and its regional alliances across the Spanish state has been badly affected by splits over the years and very little has been done to fix their structural issues. It was once the case that the rise of the Spanish Left created severe difficulties for Bildu and the BNG but equally their present disorganisation has created the opportunity for voters on the Left to be brought over to the Abertzale Left. Their participation in the coalition government with PSOE in the Cortes Generales in Madrid certainly isn’t likely to boost their popularity either.

For decades Spanish state propaganda continuously pushed the message that the Pro-Independence Left in The Basque Country and Galicia were as evil as the Devil. However there is now a new generation of better informed younger voters. The progressive messaging of Bildu and BNG on economic and social issues is resonating with an ever growing cohort of younger voters. Equo (Spanish Greens) were invited to participate in major TV debates and made a significant attempt to gain seats but ultimately failed because the platform of Bildu and the BNG on environmental issues and climate change were already solid. Both parties are also very outspoken on language and cultural rights, another factor which resonates with young people who have grown up through a Basque or Galician language-orientated education system.

The Neo-Franquista Vox party thankfully failed to win a single seat in Galicia but managed to get one in the Basque province of Araba, a reminder against complacency regarding the Far-Right. Vox want to drag the Iberian Peninsula back to the dark days of repression and cultural genocide. Their attempts to hold rallies in Bilbao and Donostia in recent weeks were met by large counter protests, and their future attempts to infect the mainstream discourse must be continuously opposed. 

The next few steps for Bildu and the BNG will arguably be their most challenging. In the Basque Country, the PNV merely functions as provincial fiefs. They enjoy a close-knit relationship with big business and local media in The Basque Country and are very unlikely to risk that for the sake of an independence push. In Galicia the Partido Popular have also enjoyed an almost untouchable existence. Breaking their grips on power will not be easy, but it can be done.

le Ciarán Ó Meachair, Oifigeach Idirnaisiúnta