Euzkadi Elections

[Cataduanes]

Following the humiliating climbdown over Northern Italy and the subsequent pressure for his administration to step down President Aizpurua has tendered his resignation and called for immediate elections.

Eusko Alkartasuna / EAS (Basque Solidarity)

The main Basque nationalist party, it is widely expected to receive the majority of any votes in an election from the ethnic Basque population. It claims to have a Basque Nationalist ideology combined with Secular Democratic values and free market thinking, it supports the supremacy of Basque language and culture within the Republic but accepts the need to compromise on the issue of minority languages. Belasco de Legazpi is the leader of the EAS.

Union of Justice

The Union for Justice is infact a coalition of the main political parties of the Spanish and French minorities as well the Basque Socialists (HASI), essentially they seek to reform the Republic to adopt a more federalist structure with a somewhat leftist approach to the economy and european politics. The leader of the HASI, Maria Eiguren, is public face of the coalition.

The member parties of the coalition are:

• Partido de la Ciudadanía / PCE (Party of Citizens)
  The PCE is the main party representing the large Spanish population who form a majority in the southern areas of the provinces of Araba and Navarra. It seeks equal language rights for the Spanish and seeks to promote a Federalist agenda. They are allied to the French party, CRM, in a coalition termed ''Union for Justice''.
  
• Mouvement républicain et citoyen / CRM (Citizen andRepublican Movement)
  The main party for the French minority found in the northern areas of the Republic, it seeks equal rights for the French language and has an avowed Federalist agenda. It is allied to the Spanish party, the PCE in the ''Union for Justice'' coalition.
  
• Herri Alderdi Sozialista Iraultzailea / HASI (People's Socialist Revolutionary Party)
  The main party for the left wing spectrum of society, it remains a largely Basque party but has a small measure of support among left-wingers in the French and Spanish speaking areas of the country. It seeks to promote a socialist agenda and promote a multi cultural society by abolishing the''Basque Only'' policy, while this means it is sympathetic to the ''Union for Justice'' coalitions aims it remains at odds with the Spanish and French factions on other points of state policy.
  

Edited August 1, 2009 by Cataduanes

[Markus Wilding]

Yacrania sends support to the Union of Justice.

[DeRaadspensionaris]

In the Dutch press there was an enormous amount of speculation with only the more right-wing newspapers supporting the present government. The centralization in Euzkadi was considered to be a problem for the stability of the country by many experienced journalists here. In an article about the elections in De Standaard (one of the largest newspapers) a correspondent in Biarritz noted that a more federal Euzkadi could provide more balance (in particular when it comes to the minorities) and openly said that he would vote for the Union of Justice (he has the Basque nationality and is married to a member of the French minority).

Edited August 1, 2009 by DeRaadspensionaris

[Cataduanes]

The Union for Justice has won the election in a landslide victory, securing just over two-thirds of the Eusko Legebiltzarra (Parliament). The new Preisdent, Maria Eiguren, is due to make statement later today.