INTRODUCTION

I.- A GOVERNMENT OF PROGRESS IN ORDER TO MOVE FORWARD

- The Basque Country, a country on the move
- Our collective aims for the new legislature

I.1) A Project at the service of the individual, of all individuals.

I.2) A Project to promote balanced and sustainable development.

I.3) A Project to open this country to the entire world.

II.- A LEGISLATURE FOR PEACE AND POLITICAL NORMALISATION

We have opened the windows of hope

II.1) The dream of Peace and Reconciliation

II.2) An opportunity for political normalisation

II.3) The Basque Government, active agent for Peace and Political Normalisation

II.4) Basque society has the last word

Mrs President, Members of Parliament, Egun on danori.

From me it is truly a great honour to defend my candidature for Lehendakari before this House, renewed after the elections of April 17, in representation of the three political parties that have reached a Government Coalition Agreement for this, the eighth legislature of the Basque government.

We present a government of progress with a threefold objective: to be an active agent in favour of a peace process that will lead to discussions aimed at putting an end to violence. Make a decisive contribution to reaching a normalisation agreement between all political parties, to be ratified by Basque society in a democratic referendum. And, of course, continue our endeavours to make the Basque Country a model of balanced and integrated social solidarity from the economic, cultural and social viewpoints.

These are the three basic premises: peace, political normalisation and social progress.  These are the fundamental pillars of the agreement reached by the EAJ-PNV, EA and Ezker Batua-Berdeak, which today we submit for consideration by this Parliament.

We have not come here with nothing to offer, but with the assurance that we will fulfil our promises. We have come here with the achievements attained during the last legislature.

Over the last four years, we have lived up to our ethical commitment to the defence of human rights and liberties, leading the steadfast stance of Basque society against violence and the contravention of civil and political rights.

We have complied with our democratic commitment to respect the wishes of Basque society, materialised in the proposal for a new political statute of relations with the Spanish State, approved by an absolute majority of the Basque Parliament.

In turn, we have complied with our commitment to the social construction of the Basque Country by developing progressive policies that have allowed us to advance towards a society with a greater sense of justice and solidarity.

These are the achievements of the last legislature. I believe, sincerely, that Basque society has made considerable progress in these three areas.

And now we are about to begin a new phase. We have a new opportunity.

As candidate for Lehendakari, and on behalf of the government coalition that I represent, I can assure you that we are ready to take advantage of this opportunity.

Our undertaking is to offer our collaboration to all the Basque political forces, both those who are present in this Parliament and those who, although absent, have the legitimate right to represent a significant part of that society, to reach, between all of us, a political agreement for normalisation and coexistence in the Basque Country.

We are commencing a new and transcendental phase in our history

Once again, and as they have done since democracy was restored to this country, the elections held on April 17 reflected the reality of a diversified and plural Basque society, of which the composition of this House is eloquent proof. On this occasion, moreover, parliamentary arithmetic obliges all our political groups to commit themselves to a new and transcendental phase in our history.

Basque society has demanded that everyone take part in the search for a response to the problem of violence and to the problem of political normalisation. In the light of this challenge, we are all necessary and none of us is sufficient. We are obliged to understand each other, because Basque society requires that we do so. A society that has seen its hopes of peace frustrated so many times and has shown its disappointment when we have allowed the opportunity for political normalisation go by. In short, a society that wishes to take control of its own future.

This is not the moment for looking back at the past. We have all made an effort to get where we are. Collectively, we have placed Basque society on the threshold of a solution. Everything is in our favour. A shared opportunity to bring a definitive end to violence. A common ground concerning the need to establish a new framework of coexistence with the Spanish State and, especially, with the advantage of a modern, sensible and mature Basque society that wants to take decisions and demands that all the political forces discuss, negotiate and reach agreements. We cannot fail. We have no right to fail.

We must face three fundamental challenges: Peace, Political Normalisation and Governability.

These are the priority objectives to which we must respond, like society, in this legislature. I have mentioned these three challenges separately because in my opinion they require different processes and different interlocutors. In some ways, these three processes are interrelated, but we must not confuse them or make one depend upon the other.

Peace, in other words, bring an end to the violence that we have had the misfortune to suffer for too long, and Political Normalisation, i.e., to resolve the historical conflicts of a political nature in the Basque Country, are the permanent aspirations of our society.

On the other hand, taking into consideration the enormous complexity of the situation and the existing political diversity, an additional challenge in this legislature, to which we will have to respond in an adequate manner, is Governability. I am aware that the Government Coalition that I represent is not guaranteed an absolute majority in this House. To be aware of the situation is, nothing more and nothing less, to accept reality. And the principle of reality requires that we all adopt a proactive attitude in the search for agreement in order to respond to the problems of the inhabitants of the Basque Country.

We propose a method to make progress: Dialogue.

I am convinced that dialogue is the only valid formula to ensure that we do not fail and to reach Basic Agreements, unattained until now. Dialogue in public and in private. Bilateral and multilateral dialogue. Dialogue without personal or political vetoes. Dialogue without prior conditions. Dialogue as a method to seek solutions, not as a fetish used demagogically before the mass media.

 The time has come for all of us to declare clearly what each of us understands by the word "dialogue". Dialogue with whom?  Why dialogue?  And where? In fact, during the last legislature, we all spoke of the need for dialogue but, in reality, there has been no dialogue. We have not discussed these issues. Sometimes, violence was offered as an excuse, on other occasions that the proposals made were anti constitutional. Some people have even stated publicly that they are proud of not having discussed these issues with the Government and with the Lehendakari.

 But all that belongs to the past. Today, fortunately, it seems that we have all learnt our lesson and, once again, the word "dialogue" can be seen on the horizon. Dialogue for peace, dialogue for normalisation, dialogue for coexistence. As candidate for Lehendakari, I wish to express publicly, here and now, my commitment to initiating a sincere dialogue without conditions. Without personal vetoes, without political exclusions and without demands for prior renunciations from anyone.

We support a basic principle: Respect

Dialogue has only one basic principle: respect. Respect for human rights. Respect for all political projects. Respect for democratic principles. Respect for the decisions adopted by Basque society. Respect for its institutions and especially and above all, respect for people.
Without this respect, dialogue will be very difficult.

In this respect, I note with great sadness that this legislature has not got off to a very promising start. This Parliament, precisely, has borne witness to this bad start. I refer especially to the deplorable process that has been followed for choosing a President for this House.

It is legitimate and democratic for parliamentary groups to decide to support one or other of the candidates presented, both for the presidency and for the parliamentary committee.  This is part of the political and parliamentary game. But, in my opinion, what is unacceptable is for someone to present a strictly personal veto to the candidate for the presidency, legitimately presented by the Coalition that obtained a democratic majority at the last elections. It is not acceptable for those who support a dialogue without vetoes and without exclusions to begin this legislature by vetoing the candidacy of Juan Mari Atutxa.

In these terms, we cannot speak of dialogue and respect, but of political and personal revenge against a leading figure in the defence of human rights who, together with members of the parliamentary committee, Kontxi Bilbao and Gorka Knörr, has distinguished himself in his defence of the dignity and independence of this Parliament.

Paradoxically, he has been vetoed by those who do not forgive him for his struggle against ETA and by those who do not forgive him for his firm stance against the interference of the Spanish state in the Basque Parliament.

For this reason, I wish to make a personal tribute to Juan Mari Atutxa, because all his life he has been an example of dignity, both in his political career and as a person.

We offer a tripartite government as a central forum for dialogue and agreement.
As candidate for Lehendakari of the tripartite coalition formed by EAJ-PNV, EA and Ezker Batua-Berdeak, I wish to reiterate our permanent predisposition to dialogue and agreement with all the other political parties, in order to respond to the fundamental challenges that we must face together, as a society, during this legislature.

+On our part, we, the political parties that have agreed to form a government, have made a great deal of effort in our negotiations to set aside our differences and to create a central forum to bring a sense of serenity and stability to Basque society. We sincerely believe that this coalition between three different political parties, two nationalist parties and one federalist, is articulated on three central premises that constitute, moreover, the bases supported by a large majority of Basque society:

- A respect for human rights
- A respect for the right of Basque society to decide its own future
- The social construction of the Basque country

In short, we wish to submit an integrating and open coalition agreement that has one political priority: Peace and Normalisation, and a social undertaking: sustainable development and solidarity.

We start from an acceptance of plurality and mutual respect as the central premise that configures the government coalition we represent. We are three different political forces that have accepted the principle of plurality as an inspirational resource that comes from society itself.

With these objectives we have formed a government of progress that represents 44 percent of the votes issued at the last elections.

 We are aware that Basque society has entrusted us with the task of permanently extending the internal consensus we have reached to each and every one of the other parliamentary forces, and that our relative majority and the challenges that we must face, require that we find points of agreement and collaboration, in the confidence that the priorities contained in our government programme, appropriately negotiated, will be a source of agreement and concurrence for all involved. That is our wish.

To sum up, in this legislature, which is about to begin, we will need less "tact" and more "arguments". It will be necessary to ensure that this legislature is characterised by the incorporation into political life of the values of integration and understanding.

 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

I will now set out the objectives and initiatives that the government coalition undertakes to develop in order to respond to the challenges of this legislature. I will start with the issue of Governability and then I will go on to the issues of Peace and Political Normalisation.