Basque Secretary General Alkartasuna, Eba Blanco, was elected on Monday morning with the rejection of the critical sector. However, the decision taken with the support of the official current has not closed the crisis of the historical party within EH Bildu.
The current Vice-President of the Basque Parliament has, in principle, been the only candidate who has collected sufficient guarantees to investigate Pello Urizar as her successor. Urizar resigned last June, in view of the impossibility of resolving the internal discrepancies that the party has maintained in recent years. In his first statements after being elected, Blanco assured that his goal will be "to unite the party".
It is not going to be easy, because the critical sector does not recognise its name. Alternative candidate Maiorga Ramírez was left out of the process of primaries, as he had not gathered the necessary guarantees for it. But it is a decision that critics do not approve, because it was adopted by the Electoral Management Committee, which considers that this body is in the hands of EA management. Therefore, it would not be impartial, according to critics.
As soon as Blanco's appointment was made public, Ramirez's candidacy published a statement in which he emphasized that his "appointment is void" and that everything depends on what the Securities Commission determines, a kind of internal tribunal that must resolve the appeals presented by the critics. The point is that, in this case, those who do not recognize the objectivity of this committee are from the official sector, because they believe that it is a body in the hands of Ramirez.
The future is difficult for the party. To begin with, the next few days will see the two currents in the courts of Vitoria-Gasteiz to resolve a complaint lodged by critics about the problems they had in accessing the census.
The source of the conflict is the role that EA should play within EH Bildu. Blanco supports those who defend the strategy of the sovereign coalition launched two years ago: according to her, EH Bildu would be a political subject of his own, with a more or less autonomous direction and its own affiliates. The coalition parties – Sortu, EA and Alternatiba – would continue to maintain their role, but not in the formula they initially agreed to. For Ramirez, however, this design jeopardizes the very existence of SNS.
It seems that the forces are fairly balanced within the party. The official sector is supported by the directorates of Bizkaia and Ipar Euskal Herria, while the critics count on that of Álava, Gipuzkoa and Navarra. In addition, they have a symbolic support: That of Carlos Garaioa.