Jon Insausti represented the PNV. In recent years, the councilman of culture and Euskera of the City recognized the work done and proposed some keys for the future. Insausti placed a powerful compass on the desktop to work: “San Sebastian, Euskera city and Gipuzkoa respiratory area”. There were several specific projects and projects mentioned, but one of the ones that received the most attention was that the films of the official section of the Film Festival this year will have subtitles in Basque.

Juan Karlos Izagirre, of EH Bildu, pointed out the good direction of the linguistic policies, but convinced that more can be done from the city hall, highlighted the need to improve in the attention to citizenship. We must not forget that we are campaigning, and in the second intervention it brought with it what it did not say in the first one: to raise the budget for linguistic policies to 2% to promote the Basque culture, to get free to level C1, to attend to the newcomers and others.

Faced with the impossibility of coming together Victor Lasa of Podemos, Miren Etxebeste, a candidate for the Deputy General, went to the discussion taking advantage that “it is his subject”. Etxebeste highlighted the successes of language policies, although it feels that they are vertical. Praised for the steps taken in knowledge, he talked about the need to make the leap to live in Basque. Etxebeste understands that we have to put forces in leisure and motivation, and there civil society has to take strength: “The people are not regulated and motivation must be sought.”

Different views

The main counterpoint was Vanessa Velez. In addition to linguistic policies, he brought the speech of the Popular Party to the table. For Vélez, the Basque “must be the heritage of all: of the Basques and not of the Basques”. He claimed the political use of Euskera as “a kind of label.” He frequently used the term imposition when referring to Basque policies: “Euskera should not be a problem, nor an advantage.”

Iñaki Gabarain, PSE-EE candidate, spoke before mixing the atmosphere: He called for “consensus”, “shared ground” and “consensus” and said he felt “very optimistic”. However, this optimism broke out as he acknowledged. Gabarain himself debated the ammunition when referring to the latest rulings against the Basque Country, when analyzing them he accused of “lack of peace” and stressed the need to guarantee the linguistic rights of “all”.

Judgments against the demands of Euskera

Around these sentences, the five candidates followed, and sometimes the interventions of the public. Izagirre and Insausti criticized the sentences. For Izagirre, these rulings “question” the competencies of linguistic policies and that “foreign courts” cannot decide on the Basque language. In the same vein, Insausti defended the rise in the levels of linguistic profile, claiming among all the institutions a joint response to these judgments.

Etxebeste, Vélez and Gabarain got candy when they heard this. Faced with the situation of “well above the limit of the law”, Etxebeste considered these judgments reasonable because “we have gone beyond the legal umbrella offered”. The statalist parties had several basic consensuses: that the demands of the Basque Country are excessively difficult and do not correspond to the socio-linguistic reality. Etxebeste was the one who got the most wet, even mud, criticizing the “titulitis”: “I have many people who speak very well Basque, but have no title. Can’t they access public jobs?”

The three parties claimed the need to defend the rights of those who do not know Basque. And it came out. What do you prefer the good doctor or the Basque? At a time when it seemed an impossible language to learn Basque, they began to speak with immigrants. Rarely is the People's Party so passionately defending the rights of migrants seen.

Remembering the former democrats and violent? For on this occasion, Vasconfilos and Democrats, to mark two sides. In other words, those who believed that a double effort should be made to promote the Basque country, and those who believed that action should be taken according to the law. In fact, Etxebeste said that linguistic profiles must be “democratized”. That is, expanding to more people, lowering the level: “A bus driver does not need to do well a writing to serve in Basque.”

Living in Basque?

The parties discussed with each other and with the public whether or not the environment can live in Basque. Gabarain considers that in Donostia it is possible to live in Basque, at least formally. Among the criticisms received by the public, they highlighted that being normally attended in the Basque administration is an odyssey.

Insausti and Izagirre highlighted the lack of consensus in the diagnosis: “It is Basque who is in the background, and if we do not accept it we will not be able to reach agreements”. The candidates began to warm up when the discrepancies became apparent, and when the tone was a bit high, some pearls or others emerged: “You want to fix everything independently,” for example.

Although it could have given more, at 20:00 the debate had to be closed in point, and then Vélez, from the Popular Party, very heated, rose: “Ba orain gaztelera hitz egingo dut, because I want to.” The phrase didn't end, but it showed the confused environment well. Because we all agree on the issue of Euskera. But the pot is tested on fire. And yesterday you only saw two pots of live fire.