The PNV spokesman in Congress, Aitor Esteban, considers that Eneko Andueza, general secretary of the PSE, “is saying a lot of nonsense” and has warned him that “let’s see if we are all going to get tired.” “He wants to introduce himself, mark a profile, because he will think that he is a stranger and will have some complex in that sense, and that is why he is provoking”, pointed out the jeltzale leader.
The tension between the two partners in the Basque Government has reached a turning point in recent days after a crossroads of high-voltage statements. Just a few days ago, the head of the Basque Socialists criticized the PNV for its “rattles about whether we are more or less Basque for speaking Basque or its claim about asking for forgiveness for the bombing of Gernika.” Not only that. He also stressed that “many of his surnames were part of the Franco regime” and also that the PNV and EH Bildu “flirt with the extreme right” to wear Sánchez down.
“Mr. Andueza is saying a lot of nonsense, and let’s see if we are all going to get tired, because he provokes those of us who are in the coalition in the Government again and again. I would ask him to be calmer”, Esteban pointed out in Bizkaia Irratia.
Since Andueza took over from Idoia Mendia at the head of the PSE last fall, the friction between the leadership of the Socialists and Sabin Etxea has been varied. At first, Andueza even warned the PNV that a left-wing tripartite should not be ruled out. He then lowered that possibility, but the Jeltzal leaders did not forget the threat. The frictions also occurred after the PNV’s rejection of the labor reform.
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