- Following the municipal and foreign elections on 26 May, the PNV and the PSE will meet this Wednesday to start talking about the government agreements. It is likely that the pact between the two parties will be ratified and that this will mean that EH Bildu will run out of six mayors and that the pp will lose another.
Prior to this Wednesday’s meeting, the leaders of both parties have expressed their intention to sign a global agreement that guarantees ‘stability’ and that would be similar to the one four years ago. In addition, the PNV has already announced that it will only seek agreements with the PSE in the municipalities and in the general meetings of Gipuzkoa.
The repetition of the bloc in power would help the two parties to gain more power, as they would take away from the Abertzale coalition several of the municipalities that have been the most voted list: In Gipuzkoa, the PSE would achieve the mayor of Andoain and Pasaia thanks to the support of the Jeltzales, while the PNV would gain power in Lezo, Mendaro and Soraluze. In Álava, the City of Laguardia would be evicted from the pp.
This pact would only allow the Jeltzales to maintain another mayor of great symbolic importance, that of Alonsotegi, the birthplace of the lehendakari of the Basque Country, Iñigo Urkullu, where in the last elections EH Bildu was the most voted force.
In Irun, another formula suits the PNV
However, the climate of understanding between the two parties has exceptions. It is about to see what is going to happen in Andoain and, above all, in Irun the looks are set: In this Gipuzkoan city, the relationship between Jeltzales and Socialists deteriorated greatly during the last legislature, and before the end of the legislature, the PNV has been making opposition to Socialist José Antonio Santano. The numbers would give to change the municipal government if the PNV received the support of EH Bildu and Elkarrekin Podemos.
Gipuzkoa Deputy General, Markel Olano, pointed out in Onda Vasca that the case of Irun is “special”, which was “very serious” what happened in this locality during the last legislature – according to Olano, Xabier Iridoy was expelled from the government team – and that there was a “very important breach of trust” between the two formations. However, it pointed out that, following the implementation of the "general framework" by both formations, special negotiations will be held in Gipuzkoa.
Durango, Galdakao and Elorrio
The PNV-PSE Pacts in other municipalities already have the ifrago: The coalition of EH Bildu and Elkarrekin Podemos would take power in three of the municipalities of Bizkaia. The left-wing Abertzale coalition would achieve new major municipalities with the support of the purple formation, such as Durango (28,000 inhabitants), Galdakao (30,000 inhabitants) or Elorrio (7,000 inhabitants), among others.