Maribel Vaquero urged voters to consider who they trust to make decisions on care, industry, housing and pensions. The EAJ-PNV candidate for Congress in Gipuzkoa and the party’s parliamentary spokesperson made the appeal at the presentation of its Gipuzkoa lists in Donostia on 7 November, ahead of Spain’s 29 November general election.
One of the clearest pledges came from Euge Arrizabalaga, president of the Gipuzkoa Buru Batzar. She said EAJ-PNV would use all its strength to prevent a government between PP and Vox and oppose any retreat on rights and freedoms. If the two parties secured a majority, she said, EAJ-PNV would oppose them. Vaquero had reiterated the same position on 5 November, linking it to the defence of Basque self-government and civil and political rights.
On 6 November, EAJ-PNV president Aitor Esteban also ruled out supporting any majority that depended on Vox to form Spain’s next government. In an interview reported by Europa Press, he said the party wanted its own parliamentary group in Congress to retain influence over issues affecting Euskadi. Esteban described the refusal as a continuing party position. He said EAJ-PNV viewed Vox as opposed to Spain’s autonomous communities and its own Basque nationalist principles.
Vaquero framed the election around Euskadi’s representation in Madrid and voters’ everyday concerns. In a TVE interview reported by Europa Press, she named “Euskadi” as the party’s condition for supporting an investiture. She also listed recognition of Euskadi as a nation, a new status, infrastructure, energy, industry and higher wages among its priorities. Vaquero said EAJ-PNV had helped build Euskadi over decades, including through its work in Congress, and would keep defending Basque interests during the next legislature.
The 2023 general election provides the latest parliamentary baseline: PP won 137 seats, PSOE 121, Vox 33 and Sumar 31. PP and Vox together held 170 seats in the 350-member Congress, six short of the 176 required for an absolute majority. EAJ-PNV won five seats and EH Bildu six. Those figures show the role smaller parliamentary groups can play in investiture arithmetic, but they do not determine the outcome of the 29 November election.
Her criticism of rival parties formed part of her campaign argument. Vaquero described parties with state-wide reach as branches of their national organisations. She said the PP in Gipuzkoa was no longer fielding a Senate candidate and was asking voters to support Vox. She also accused EH Bildu of backing PSOE positions in Madrid, including positions she said weakened Basque self-government.
Luke Uribe-Etxebarria, the party’s Senate candidate, argued that a strong EAJ-PNV presence in Madrid was necessary to defend Euskadi’s political autonomy, its businesses and its culture. He credited the party’s pressure for advances in self-government during the legislature, while criticising the PSOE for acting only partially and out of necessity. A separate dispute over parliamentary language services was covered in an earlier report on interpretation.
Vaquero also warned supporters against choosing what she called a “useful vote” between the two political blocs, arguing that it would not represent Basque interests. She urged people considering staying at home to vote. Arrizabalaga said EAJ-PNV would defend Euskadi whether the government formed in Madrid was blue or red.
