ABSTRACT

The PNV was founded in 1895 and is one of the oldest parties in Spain (De Pablo and Mees, 2005; Pérez Nievas, 2006 and 2011). When it began, the party adopted a nationalist ideology emphasizing the Basque Country’s ethnic features, but it gradually exchanged that for more conciliatory principles in line with the Catholic Church’s Social Doctrine and other Christian-Democratic parties. The PNV got its first MP in 1918 and by the 1930s had already become the most relevant party in the Basque Country. During Spain’s Second Republic (1931-39), the party promoted a Statute of Autonomy that was finally approved at the beginning of the Civil War (1936-39). The PNV’s party leader, José Antonio Aguirre, was then elected as first regional Prime Minister. The PNV kept the regional government in exile throughout the Francoist regime (1939-75). In 1959, the Basque nationalist left founded Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA), which mainly used violent means to achieve its goal of independence. Up until 2011, the ETA deeply destabilized Basque and Spanish politics. By contrast, the PNV has been the largest party in the Basque Country since 1977. It has also held regional office most of the time (by itself or in coalition) and has been a key ally for Spanish minority governments.