44 years later, despite strong erosion, the PNV continues to win elections. Otxandiano announced that there was a change in the political cycle, but that has not been the case, and so far the majorities to form the government will not be renewed. Perhaps EH Bildu has not yet paid all the debts of the Abertzale left.

In the last days of the election campaign the shadow of ETA has appeared and, once again, the PSE-EE has pushed the issue of “ethical soil” to reject any deal with EH Bildu. Andueza sees his safer future under the auspices of the PNV. And the uncomplicated deal that happens in Madrid here at the moment is not “ethical”.

Candidate profiles have been worked hard to avoid distortions. Most of the list leaders have been men, born in the 1980s, with university degrees and few experiences in social struggle. I guess all parties have cleaned up the candidates’ backpacks, including the last pocket. These behaviors seek the selective elimination of the collective memory, thus restarting the trajectories of the parties as if they started from scratch. Believers of every opportunity must maintain faith in their elect and be the best believers.

Surely it has not been easy for the PNV to enter lists anyone who has achieved good business for party clients or for revolving door travellers. The PSE-EE has watched the defenders of the dirty war not appear (Ramon Jáuregui, despite his minute of glory in the Ardanza panegyric, was a ghost of the past). EH Bildu has succeeded in ensuring that no person sanctioned by the Spanish anti-terrorist law is included in the ballot papers, even if this means cancelling almost an entire militant generation.

But the political communication of our candidates has gone further. In the election campaign, the topics have also been very measured: Osakidetza, housing, care and Ertzaintza. Promises have been made in these areas, as in the auction, but without touching the models.

In the face of a profound crisis, no one has explained how to face the future. I believe that the main questions remain in the air. When the neoliberal market has taken over everything (health, education, housing, care), how to meet people’s needs? Will we keep hyper-consumption blind exploiting other peoples? In the dilemma of the protection and industrial energy consumption of land, where are we? Will women continue to suffer structural male violence, even if the law is in our favour? How will we make Euskera the dominant language in our communities? Where and how will older people live the end of their lives in the coming years? In Basque society, will digital development end humanism and communism?