argia.eus
INPRIMATU
On the official status of Basque sports teams
  • Acceptance of Basque sports selections is not the current debate. For 50 years, various sports leaders, both zangobaloi and ball, have been working on the establishment of official Basque sports bodies. There are the obstacles to achieving this officialdom and what would be the way out of the barrier.
Andde Sainte-Marie Enbata 2020ko irailaren 23a

The PSOE has required several political agreements to investigate Pedro Sánchez as president of the Government of Spain. Within the framework of the Euskal Herria Kirola initiative promoted in the last CAV regional elections, several political parties were able to give their views on the official status of the Basque sports teams.

Undoubtedly, the issue has an emotional, symbolic and political component beyond the CAV, also throughout the Basque Country. It is well known that the issue systematically appears on the programmatic faces of EAJ-PNV and EH Bildu, with the aim of bringing a political request to Madrid and international sports federations. However, beyond the two Basque formations (70% of the political representation in the Gasteiz Parliament), the PSE and Elkarrekin Van-IU have also approached this request for official status, leaving only the two Spanish overseas unionist parties.

The political majority in favour

The first written decision of the PSE (political force 3 of the Vitoria-Gasteiz parliament) on the subject in question is worth highlighting. The Basque version “The Basque Socialists respect and support all the initiatives promoted by the Basque sports federations that have launched actions to participate in international official competitions of a voluntary nature and within the private sphere of self-regulation”. For its part, Elkarrekin We can say “We clearly want to show our support for the demand for Basque sport, its dissemination, officiality and internationalization. We call for the participation of Basque selections who wish to participate in international competitions.” This is the first time that the Basque branch of Pablo Iglesias has spoken so clearly. In view of all this and in view of the position adopted by the four main parties of the Basque Parliament, it should be made clear that the request for the official status of the Basque selections for internationalisation represents a large political majority. Basically 90% of the regional parliament.

I would be interested to know whether this demand actually has a similar popular support in society, how far it is rooted in the citizens, in the citizens of different political sensitivities, even in those who do not come to vote. Suppose that an investigation might be interesting, provided that a new window was opened to the request.

He would be interested to
know whether this requirement has a truly popular
foundation
in society, to what extent it is rooted
in the citizens, in the citizens of different political sensibilities.

The PSE’s decision on this issue should be emphasised once again, not necessarily by its quantitative or qualitative representation in the Parliament of Vitoria, but because, however, we see that the same party is now managing the Spanish Government.

The need to turn agreements into laws

All this has brought us back to the agreement between the PSOE and EAJ/PNV cited at the beginning of the chronicle. Going into the details of this agreement, we realize that in order for the official status of the Basque selections to be legal, the Government of Pedro Sánchez has to amend the Spanish Sport Law voted in 1990, and all this as if it were not enough in a short time, as it has a little more than three years left. Before the PSOE draws up a bill in the Madrid Congress, it can be assumed that it will try to guarantee the constitutionality of this new law if it is consistent, for which it will first have to pass the constitutional, legal and fundamentally political filters of the different stages. Seeing that right-wing and conservative forces, blind or hidden, still exist today at different points of decision in Madrid, it can be said that without being excessively pessimistic, three years will not be enough for the four Basque political parties and the PSOE/PNV pact to fulfil this requirement agreed in Agreement No 11 and become law.

And I don't want to start thinking that if you pass all the filters in Madrid and overtake them, maybe you have to pass so many other international types. A real marathon, full of fences as well. EAJ-PNV, EH Bildu, PSE/PSOE and Elkarrekin-Podemos, both from the Parliament of Vitoria-Gasteiz and from the Madrid Congress, will really push and implement that political agreement. It is one thing to sign agreements, another is to implement agreements and legislate.

Once again, the credibility of politics is at stake with the deepest issues. Say what I should do and say what I should do.

Article published in Enbata.