The PNV and the PSE-EE will continue to govern in coalition in the Basque Country after closing a pre-agreement on Monday for the next term, which will allow the nationalist Imanol Pradales to be elected as lehendakari, and he will be invested on June 20th thanks to the absolute majority of these two parties. The pact focuses on the programmatic commitments of the two parties and leaves the distribution of the portfolios of the future autonomous government for the coming days. The document “Bases for advancing in welfare, progress, self-government, and the transformation of a global Euskadi,” containing the main action points that will guide the governance of the PNV and the PSE in the coming years. These include a new statutory pact aimed at advancing self-government and contributing to the progress of the Basque Country.
The agreement was announced the day after the European elections, in which the PNV has once again lost electoral support, becoming the third political force in the region, behind the socialists and EH Bildu, the coalition with the most votes in Euskadi. The PNV and the PSE had already started discussions shortly after the Basque elections on April 21st to try and reach an agreement to renew their coalition. The socialists are seeking to have more influence in the next government council, which currently consists of eight nationalist representatives and three socialists, in addition to the lehendakari Iñigo Urkullu.
The pre-agreement reached by the negotiators will need to be ratified in the coming days by the National Assembly of the PNV and the members of the PSE. In the final part of the agreed document, they state that both parties are “aware of the key importance of this term in building the future Basque Country” and aim to “improve the level of well-being for all citizens, ensure progress and social cohesion, and consolidate and deepen our unique system of self-government through a new statutory pact” by 2028.
The pre-agreement also outlines priorities for the new Basque government, including social policies, economic growth models, energy transformation, and policies on coexistence, memory, and human rights, as well as the promotion of self-government. The parties are committed to fulfilling the Gernika Statute and working towards a new statutory pact through negotiation, agreement, and political consensus in the Basque Parliament within the framework of their competencies and current legislation. This marks the third agreement signed by the PNV and the PSE since 2016, demonstrating their ongoing commitment to governing together in the Basque Country.
