This Saturday, Imanol Pradales was sworn in as Lehendakari before the Gernika Tree, a symbol of Basque freedoms, after receiving the makila (command staff) from the hands of his predecessor, Iñigo Urkullu. “Standing on the Basque land, humble before God and Basque society, under the Gernika Oak, with the memory of our ancestors, before whom you are representatives of the people, I swear to faithfully carry out my mandate,” was the formula used by Pradales in the oath, only in Basque, very similar to the one used by the first Basque Lehendakari, José Antonio Aguirre, in 1937. However, he has not repeated the phrase that Urkullu used four years ago: “With loyalty to the Crown and with respect for the Constitution” and other laws.
Pradales has become the sixth lehendakari of democracy, after Carlos Garaikoetxea, José Antonio Ardanza (recently deceased), Juan José Ibarretxe, Patxi López and Iñigo Urkullu. Following the protocol that marks the occasion, Pradales has been received at the Gernika Assembly House by the president of the Basque Parliament, Bakartxo Tejeria, and the rest of the members of the Legislative Board, the outgoing Lehendakari, the members of the Chamber and various authorities, 300 guests in total, among whom was the first vice president of the Government, María Jesús Montero.
The Lehendakari has sworn in in Basque on the copy of the Statute of Autonomy of the Parliament and a copy of the Old Charter of Bizkaia, made on November 4, 1600 by the notary Juan Ruiz de Angiz. After the oath, inside the Gernika Assembly House, Pradales pronounced the following phrase in Basque and Spanish to assume his position: “By the will of the Basque Parliament, having taken the oath, I take possession and assume the position of Lehendakari of the Government of the Basque Country, as well as the status of ordinary representative of the State, in accordance with the legal system.” Immediately afterwards, Urkullu handed him the makila, a wooden cane, 54 centimeters long that at the top is crowned by a golden metal knob with plant motifs and blue enamel details.
Pradales plans to officially communicate this Saturday the composition of the Government that he will lead, in which it is already known that it will be made up of 10 councilors from the PNV and five from the PSE-EE, the largest since the democratic restoration and four more than the one led during the last term by Urkullu. In that Cabinet, the mayor of Portugalete (Bizkaia), Mikel Torres, will assume one of the two vice-presidencies and will be the strong man of the socialists in the Government.
The presence of Denis Itxaso, socialist and former Government delegate in the Basque Country until the last regional elections, as well as that of the until now Minister of Commerce and Tourism, Javier Hurtado, is also taken for granted. From the Peneuvista wing, hardly any names have emerged for the portfolios that the PNV will assume over the next four years. It is assumed that he will direct the main departments, such as Security, Education and Health, and will let the socialists take charge, among others, of Memory and Prisons policies, a competence that has been in the hands of the Basque Government since October 2021. .
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At the end of the event, and after the formal photographs of Pradales with the former Lehendakaris, the leader of the Basque socialists, Eneko Andueza, wished him “the best of futures and the greatest of successes”, and acknowledged feeling “very proud.” ” of the government pact signed with the PNV, because it bears “the socialist imprint” that will “guarantee good management.”
The first vice president of the Government and Minister of Labor has taken the opportunity to criticize, in statements to the press, the leader of the opposition, the popular Alberto Núñez Feijóo, whom she has asked to “modulate, rectify or separate himself” from the attacks of his party to the Government in the presentation of the Madrid international medal to the Argentine president, Javier Milei. With this act, she has said, the Community of Madrid chaired by Isabel Díaz Ayuso, carried out a “policy of confrontation and persecution” of the Government of Spain and encouraged the extreme right and populism.
These words have been criticized by the president of the Basque PP, parliamentarian Javier de Andrés. In his opinion, Montero has chosen in Gernika to give a “PSOE rally in breach of the protocol” of a solemn act such as the oath of a lehendakari. Montero wished Pradales “the best wishes” and assured that the autonomous Executive “will have the help of the Government of Spain” to carry out “the measures and initiatives that contribute to well-being, economic growth and progress.”
Pello Otxandiano, who this past Thursday presented his candidacy for Lehendakari, has reaffirmed in Gernika his “total willingness” to reach agreements with the Executive that Pradales will lead, whom he has wished “luck.” The EH Bildu parliamentarian has stressed that he is working to find meeting spaces “for this country to advance in national terms, in its sovereignty and in the construction of a more egalitarian, more feminist, more equitable and more sustainable society.” .
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