The debate for the investiture of the Lehendakari (First Minister) of the Basque autonomous government took place yesterday in Vitoria, in the aftermath of Monday's ETA car bomb in Madrid which killed a policeman.
The parliamentary set-pieces in the regional capital indicated that the differences behind the Basque conflict were as deep as ever, though the general tone was more positive than the bitter partisanship which had marked the last legislature.
The debate opened with a motion condemning the bombing. The speaker of the house, Mr Juan Maria Atutxa, of the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), told the parliament that "ETA is the enemy of the Basque Country". The seven deputies for the newly-christened Batasuna (formerly Herri Batasuna), the political grouping identified with ETA, did not take their seats during the motion. It was passed unanimously in their absence.
The PNV candidate for Lehendakari, Mr Juan Jose Ibarretxe, is certain to emerge as victor, though he will lead a minority government made up of democratic nationalists. Negotiations with the non-nationalist United Left coalition, which had been expected to produce a broader (and majority) coalition, broke down earlier this month.
At the opening of the previous parliament in 1998, which coincided with ETA's ceasefire, Mr Ibarretxe had led a government backed by radical nationalists associated with ETA. The armed group's return to terrorism in 1999 led to the collapse of its supporters' vote in last May's elections, and a gain of six seats by the PNV. A determined campaign by the centre-right Partido Popular (PP), in government in Madrid, and the centre-left Socialist Party (PSOE) failed to displace the PNV as the dominant party in the region.
Mr Ibarretxe yesterday promised the parliament a controversial two-pronged policy. On the one hand, he has committed his party once again to unqualified rejection of violence. On the other, he insisted yesterday that "dialogue" was required to resolve the conflict, and said that his government would continue to actively pursue Basque self-determination.
Both the PP and PSOE yesterday dismissed the idea that any dialogue was possible with a terrorist group. They also accused Mr Ibarretxe of linking the issue of self-determination with an end to violence, instead of making the eradication of terrorism his priority.