FEATURE-Basque issue brings Spanish PM weekends of protest
14 Mar 2007 14:44:08 GMT Source: Reuters
By Jason Webb MADRID, March 14 (Reuters) - Spain's prime minister must hate Saturdays. That's the day of the week hundreds of thousands of people march through the streets of Madrid chanting for him to resign for allegedly making concessions to Basque rebels ETA. The huge crowds of what must be the world's best-dressed demonstrators, who tend to come from the higher income brackets, have prompted newspaper headlines fretting over rising national tensions in a country where memories of Civil War still smart. With regional elections due in May and a national vote next year, they also reflect a gamble by the conservative opposition Popular Party which is focusing its energies on rejecting government attempts to coax ETA into talks. There have been marches most weekends in Madrid so far this year, organised by the opposition or groups critical of the Socialist government. Whole families turn out: grandmothers in fur coats; fathers in all-weather jackets and little girls with ribbons in their hair. Banners call Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero with ETA a traitor. The government broke off contacts with ETA last year after it violated a truce by exploding a bomb in a Madrid airport carpark that killed two people. But, despite this rebuff to the rebels, opposition fury has only risen with accusations the government is ceding ground to separatists after decades of violent struggle for Basque independence in northern Spain. "It's the first time I've ever come to a demonstration," said economist Enrique Nader, 37, while carrying a Spanish flag in a march which choked the city centre last Saturday. "We don't know what all this could lead to. The independence of the Basque Country? The break-up of Spain?" he said. Opposition rage focused on the government's decision to allow house arrest to convicted ETA killer Inaki de Juana Chaos, who came close to death on hunger strike while serving a sentence for glorifying terrorism and threatening judges. The strategy seems to be paying off for the Popular Party, which, according to a January poll by the respected CIS group was less than a percentage point behind the Socialists -- the narrowest gap for three years. OPPOSITION DICTATES POLITICAL AGENDA A government official agreed the opposition was driving the political agenda but was also running the risk of alienating voters with its negative campaigning. "No one's talking about the economy, which is doing great, or the social situation, which is great," said the official, who asked not to be named, acknowledging confrontational politics did not come naturally to Zapatero. Once disparagingly nicknamed "Bambi" for his mild-mannered style, Zapatero won a surprise election victory in 2004 after the former PP government of Jose Maria Aznar initially blamed Islamist train bombings in Madrid on ETA. Under Zapatero, Spain has continued a decade-long boom. But prosperity has not lessened distaste conservatives feel for the prime minister, who has legalised gay marriage and reduced the role of the Catholic Church in education. They have been enraged by moves to grant more autonomy to Spain's regions, especially Catalonia, and fear a peace deal with ETA could lead to Basque independence. Zapatero has accused the opposition of dangerously stirring up division within Spanish society. But stirring divisions may not be bad politics, according to one anonymous Popular Party heavweight quoted in pro-government newspaper El Pais. "It's not true you win elections from the centre. The key is to mobilise your supporters," he said, arguing the Socialists lost elections in 2000 due to high abstention.
