El desafío o problema nacionalista

Abstract

This paper tries to analyse the explanations that political parties and newspapers —editorials and opinion articles— elaborated on the strategic approach that the Basque Nationalism —Partido Nacionalista Vasco and Eusko Alkartasuna— initiated after the failure of the 1998 Estella Agreement between all nationalist forces, social and political, to be undertaken after the 2004 elections. According to the Partido Popular’s view, it was about a challenge to the Constitutional State, aggravated by the alliance between the nationalist forces and the weakness and ideological division of socialism. In turn, the Partido Socialista considered that the Spanish Right had already challenged democracy and social and political liberties, and that the radicalisation of nationalism was just a consequence. The press criticised the immoderation of political parties and argued, expressly or tacitly, that nationalism was the political problem in the Basque Country and that, if there was a challenge, this came from ETA’s violence, the relationships with the rest of nationalist forces and the new nationalist strategy.

Keywords

• nacionalismo
• prensa
• elecciones
• partidos políticos