Electoral setback for Euskal Herritarrok
Moderate Basque nationalists won key elections in the Basque Country on Sunday 13 May, indicating voters want to move toward independence from Spain, but the election was a setback for left-wing pro-independence movement Euskal Herritarrok. Turnout was a record 78 percent.
The Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) and its coalition partner Eusko Alkartasuna - which both favour an independent Basque Country - fell short of an overall majority in the regional parliament by only five seats - the coalition won 33 seats, up from 27. Thirty-eight seats are needed to control the 75-seat Basque Regional Parliament, so the nationalists will need support from another party to govern. The Socialists or Euskal Herritarrok are considered the most likely candidates.
The increase of the moderate Basque nationalism vote has been mostly at the expense of the left-wing pro-independence movement. Euskal Herritarrok saw its support drop sharply, from 14 seats to 7. This is the worst result ever for the coalition, which under the title Herri Batasuna had never held less than 11 seats in the parliament of the semi-autonomous Basque region. The result comes after an escalation of attacks throughout Spain by the Basque separatist group ETA.
The Basque Nationalist Party drew scathing criticism from Madrid for allying itself with Euskal Herritarrok in the last legislature, but Euskal Herritarrok spokesman Arnaldo Otegi appealed to the PNV to seek a similar arrangement this time as well. ``We call on the Basque Nationalist Party and Eusko Alkartasuna to make the most of these gains and join with Euskal Herritarrok to form a majority in parliament and make a clear push for sovereignty,'' Otegi told reporters.
Otegi blamed his party's poor showing on what he called a Spanish government ``campaign of fear'', aimed at convincing voters the Spanish state would break up entirely if the Basque region gained independence. Some of the votes were also lost for tactical reasons he said, as people voted for PNV candidates to keep out the pro-Spanish candidates from the Popular Party and the Socialist Party.
Now it is up to Basque autonomous president Juan José Ibarretxe to decide his allies for the next government term. After the victory of PNV-EA was announced, he was received by his supporters with cries for independence. But despite the PNV-EA campaign's heavy concentration on a pro-independence message, Ibarretxe has repeated on many occasions that he will not consider dealing with Euskal Herritarrok to form a new government. His other options are to establish a pact with the left-wing coalition IU-EB, which will leave him two seats short of the overall majority, or deal with the Socialist Party, which would necessarily involve an end to any pro-independence policies.
PNV, Eusko Alkartasuna and PSOE had formed coalition governments on four occasions prior to the decision by PNV to sign the Lizarra Garazi Declaration, an agreement aimed at solving the Basque conflict by political means and supported by most Basque political parties, trade unions and social groups.
Although pre-election polls had suggested that for the first time in two decades, parties opposed to independence could win control of the government in the semi-autonomous Basque region, their intensive campaigning have not done the trick. The Popular Party of Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, vehemently opposed to Basque independence, won 19 seats -only one up from the last autonomous elections- and the Socialist Party, also against secession, lost one seat, taking 13.
The Popular Party's candidate, Jaime Mayor Oreja -who abandoned his position as Home Affairs minister for the Spanish cabinet to run in the Basque elections - said he was disappointed by his group's performance, but he welcomed the decline of Euskal Herritarrok.
Mayor Oreja's centre-right Popular Party, in a partnership with its Socialist opponents, had hoped to gain an overall majority and end 21 years of dominance by the Basque Nationalist Party in the regional government, which wants Madrid to allow a referendum on self-determination. Madrid fears a breakaway could encourage nationalists in other regions such as Catalonia and Galicia.
Basque secession would also deprive Spain of a region that accounts for 9 percent of its gross domestic product. Its banks are major investors throughout Latin America, while its chemical and metallurgical industries have rebounded from recession in the 1980s.
Berlusconi wins in Italy
Silvio Berlusconi's conservative coalition has won Italy's parliamentary election. His leftist opponent conceded defeat on Monday 14 May, leaving the media magnate on the brink of again becoming the premier of Italy.
Official returns showed Berlusconi's coalition had secured a majority in the Senate and a similar victory in Italy's lower house. He needs a majority in both houses to be able to quickly form a government. Uncertainty about the final makeup of parliament was due in part to Italy's complex electoral system - a mix of direct and proportional representation - as well as the reluctance of some parties to declare allegiances.
Berlusconi, a billionaire media tycoon who portrays himself as a model of financial success, has promised Italians deep tax cuts, higher pensions and 1.5 million new jobs, although he has been vague about the details.
Even if Berlusconi was the favourite, Francesco Rutelli - a former major of Rome who headed a centre-left coalition - closed in during the waning weeks as questions mounted about the billionaire's possible conflicts of interest.
Berlusconi easily won his own race for a seat in the lower house representing Milan. His opponent was the former captain of Berlusconi's soccer team AC Milan. The soccer team is just a small part of the 64-year-old entrepreneur's $12 billion empire.
Berlusconi, whose holdings also include Italy's three main private TV networks, rebuffed all calls to divest himself of any assets to avoid a conflict of interest. Instead, he told voters that what was good for him was also good for them.
Nearly 80 percent of the 49.5 million Italians eligible to vote cast ballots in 60,000 poll stations, said Interior Minister Enzo Bianco. Official results were delayed for hours because polls around the country closed late to accommodate voters, who were forced to wait in lines that stretched around city blocks.
Controversy surrounds Berlusconi's choice of allies - the once-fascist National Alliance and the xenophobic Northern League. Berlusconi's forces in Sicily are also allied with the Tricolor Flame, an openly neofascist party. But Berlusconi has chosen such allies in the past: his first time as premier in 1994 ended when the Northern League pulled out of his coalition after seven months in government.
Berlusconi's government will be Italy's 59th since World War II, a tribute to a complex electoral system that gives tiny parties the leverage to shatter governing coalitions.
Days before the election, popular Italian comic and actor Roberto Benigni - who directed and starred in the Oscar-winning black comedy Life is Beautiful, set in a Nazi concentration camp - appeared on Italian television and warned that life would not be so beautiful if Silvio Berlusconi won the general election. Internationally renowned novelist Umberto Eco also joined the debate, warning of Berlusconi's media monopoly: ``Even if we suppose Berlusconi is an absolutely correct man... one has never seen in the history of any country, a newspaper or television chain spontaneously launching a campaign against its owner.''
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