http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?webcat=foreign&enewsid=5062
Basques mull early elections as Zapatero under Socialist leader Zapatero, hamstrung by his 10-month-old government's reliance on small regional parties, adopts a conciliatory tone at the debate, holding out the prospect of more autonomy from Madrid Speculation swirled on Wednesday that the Basque government could call early elections to revive its stalled plan for virtual independence, as Spain's prime minister came under fire for offering the Basques a compromise. Basque premier Juan Jose Ibarretxe's plan for "free association" with Spain was crushingly rejected by the Spanish Parliament on Tuesday, but he defiantly vowed to push ahead with a referendum if armed separatists ETA end their violence. Zapatero conciliatory:Socialist leader Zapatero, hamstrung by his 10-month-old government's reliance on small regional parties, adopted a conciliatory tone at the debate, holding out the prospect of more autonomy from Madrid. "Congress rejects the 'Ibarretxe plan' but Zapatero gives wings to the nationalists," said right-leaning paper El Mundo, blasting the Socialists for opening a Pandora's box of demands for more autonomy from Spain's powerful regions. Ibarretxe called an emergency meeting of the Basque government on Wednesday to discuss the rejection of his plan, amid speculation he would bring forward elections due for May. "In the coming hours and days many things will be clarified and important decisions will be taken," Juan Maria Atutxa, president of the Basque parliament, told regional radio. "This has only just begun and we have a lot of stages before us." A referendum would only be held after the regional poll if Ibarretxe is re-elected, nationalist politicians say. Zapatro's diemma:Pressured by the opposition's calls for a tougher line on the Basques, Zapatero cannot afford to alienate regional allies in wealthy Catalonia, who support the Socialists in power there but are also pressing for far more autonomy from Madrid. The Socialist prime minister is betting he can oust the Basque country's ruling coalition at upcoming elections, defusing what he calls a threat to Spain's 1978 Constitution. While the prime minister took a conciliatory approach, his Socialist party adopted a tougher line in Tuesday's parliamentary debate, in an apparent attempt to deflect criticism from the opposition Popular Party (PP). On Wednesday, Socialist party spokesman Jose Blanco floated the possibility of an alliance with the PP in the Basque elections, to close ranks against nationalist parties. "The Basque premier has to call elections ... his mandate has finished," Blanco told a news conference. "We are in an election campaign in the Basque country and the people will decide." Some Basque politicians, however, played down the possibility Ibarretxe would call snap elections. "The meeting will probably be to fix an official position on yesterday's vote. I don't think he will announce elections today," said a member of the ruling nationalist coalition, who predicted the vote could be moved forward slightly to mid-April. Should Ibarretxe win the upcoming vote and convene an illegal referendum without the blessing of the Madrid parliament, it would force Zapatero's government into a corner. ETA violence:The prime minister revoked the previous government's legislation to jail Ibarretxe if he took such a step, and has tried to foster a compromise to end ETA violence, which has killed more than 830 people since 1968. ETA has not killed in more than a year, although it has carried out a number of small bombings. Many Basque politicians have talked of an upcoming truce by ETA, classed as a terrorist group by the United States and European Union. "On the eve of a peace process, the key question is whether the rejection of a pluri-national Spain ... will give excuses to ETA," said the Basque nationalist politician. -- The Red Sox killed my father. Now they're coming after me. -- Marty Nolan ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Take a look at donorschoose.org, an excellent charitable web site for anyone who cares about public education! http://us.click.yahoo.com/_OLuKD/8WnJAA/cUmLAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? 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