Pello Otxandiano has been proposed by the Political Table of EH Bildu as a candidate for lehendakari in the next regional elections of 2024 in a “historic moment” in which the State will “necessarily open the debate on territoriality” with the aim of addressing “a plurinational model.” The party leadership has unanimously chosen him for his “solvency, capacity and commitment to the country”, and believes that he is “a qualitative investment.”
The general coordinator of EH Bildu, Arnaldo Otegi, announced this in an emergency appearance in San Sebastián, after the Political Table decided, in its meeting this Monday, to bet on Otxandiano to challenge Imanol Pradales for the Lehendakaritza, the PNV candidate. In this way, they want it to face “the problems” that Euskadi faces, which, in their opinion, lie in the fact that there is “an exhausted and exhausting government” with an “exhausted and exhausting policy of alliances”, in reference to the coalition of Jeltzales and socialists. .
Pello Otxandiano will succeed, in this way, Maddalen Iriarte, who was the EH Bildu candidate for the presidency of the Basque Government in the 2020 elections and who in the last regional elections was the candidate for general deputy of Guipúzcoa.
Otxandiano, 40 years old and native of Otxandio (Vizcaya), has important political background within the sovereigntist formation and until now has been Program Director. Doctor in Telecommunications Engineering, he is considered one of the ideologues of EH Bildu.
In his speech, Otegi explained EH Bildu wanted to approach this process “with a certain calm and serenity.” Thus, he has detailed that the candidate election process will officially get underway next Monday, and the candidate must be ratified by the bases.
In this way, he has announced that there are new developments in this process, since for the first time EH Bildu will not only present a candidate for Lehendakari, but will also present proposals as candidates for the presidency of the Parliament Board and for the spokesperson for the political group of the sovereigntist formation in the Basque Chamber, in order for them to be corroborated by the militancy.
Arnaldo Otegi has reiterated that the elections in Euskadi are going to take place “in a very special context, at a very specific historical moment” in which, as he said, “it is something fundamental and core to understand that the composition of a PSOE government and Adding at this moment in the Spanish State and the composition of the bloc that makes this Government possible, which is a plurinational bloc of left and right, but plurinational, will necessarily open the debate on the territorial model and on the plurinational in the Spanish State”.
In this way, he has insisted that “this is a core debate because it affects Euskal Herria, our political status, our national condition and because it affects, above all, the powers that we need in terms of sovereignty to be able to apply public policies.” to face the great challenges that the country has.”
The Abertzale leader has also stated that we must face “epochal challenges”, among which he has cited the climate crisis, artificial intelligence, or digitalization. Likewise, he has considered that the Basque Autonomous Community has “its own problems.”
In his opinion, these problems are summarized in “an exhausted and exhausting government, an exhausted and exhausting policy of alliances, and a model of doing politics that obeys more to the 19th century than to the 21st century, and also with public policies and public management that are putting serious problems on the table”.
For Otegi, “no matter how much they want to disguise themselves with surveys, there is a problem in the Ertzaintza, in Education, in the Government model.” “Even the minority partner of this Government (PSE) already says this and, therefore, from our point of view, it is time to propose an alternative,” he pointed out, to point out that this “will come from the hand of the pro-independence left”.
“SOLVENCE AND CAPACITY”
Thus, he has defended the “solvency” and “capacity” of Pello Otxandiano. “In addition to security, commitment to the country, he has two very important things that it will be difficult for another candidate to have: passion for changing things and soul to recover for this country the stadium and the stage that this country needs and wants. “I think this is the best summary of this candidacy. Solvency, security, rigor, soul and passion,” he added.
Arnaldo Otegi has insisted that EH Bildu is “the political force that offers Basques from these three territories an opportunity and, in the end, it will be the people and it will be the people who decide and put everyone in their place.” “We go out all out, we go out to win,” he emphasized.
Asked how many more people were on the shortlist to reach the candidate for Lehendakari, the general coordinator of EH Bildu assured that they have “a very extensive bench, but today this decision has been made unanimously by the political table.”
Finally, when questioned about whether a man was finally chosen by EH Bildu to run for Lehendakaritza, he highlighted the “clear feminist commitment” of the sovereignist formation as a whole, and recalled examples in previous elections in which the candidates They have been women, as is the case of the Provincial Council of Guipúzcoa or the mayors of Vitoria or Bilbao.
