The joint fight against terrorism

The thousands of people who demonstrated in Madrid on Saturday did so carrying banners that associated the defeat of ETA with the demand that it should not have political representation in Basque local governments. Whether or not candidates from parties that have links to Batasuna- the outlawed political wing of ETA- run or not depends on decisions made by the courts. But the banner was aimed at the government.

"If ETA has a presence in the Basque local elections, it will be because [Prime Minister] Zapatero and [Deputy Prime Minister] Rubalcaba have allowed it," said the president of the main group behind the march, the Association of Victims of Terrorism, in her closing speech.

The government has complied with its obligation to challenge the candidacy of Sortu (a party born from Batasuna), and the Supreme Court has decided, by a narrow margin, to accept this challenge. But it could well have not done so, for reasons such as those expounded by seven judges in their dissenting vote. This would have been just as legal and equally legitimate.

Despite the views that some of the organizers of the march hold, it can be argued that, while Sortu is indeed a creation of Batasuna, identifying it with ETA is no longer a given. An internal tug-of-war seems to exist, which allows for differing interpretations of the (necessarily circumstantial) evidence- the assessment of which falls to the judges.

The organizers of the demonstration portray the relationship between the end of ETA and the participation of its sympathizers in elections in terms of a labyrinthine argument, which reasons that if ETA is eventually allowed to field candidates in the elections (via Batasuna and its surrogate formations) it will be because "they have made a deal with the government," to quote the words used by the Foro Ermua group in order to encourage people to attend the demonstration.

The same line is taken by the Popular Party's spokesman in the European Parliament, Jaime Mayor Oreja, despite the fact that he lacks the express support of the leadership of his party (that did not prevent the party from supporting the demonstration, however, although the PP leader, Mariano Rajoy, did not appear). It is fairly likely that Rajoy will be prime minister within a year. If so, he will undoubtedly issue a call for cross-party unity to put an end to ETA. But where will his moral authority to do this be, given that leaders of his party constantly sow insidious slanders against the present government in connection with the anti-terrorist struggle, making any such unity all the more difficult?

The shots fired on Saturday against a French gendarme confirm ETA's reluctance to disappear, but the arrest soon after of the shooters, known terrorists, is further evidence that an end to the organization is approaching, thanks to effective police action and to the antagonism between ETA and its political wing.

What meaning can there be, then, in this attempt to artificially recreate the atmosphere of confrontation that divided public opinion during the previous legislature? Especially given that this issue, oddly enough, holds the broadest consensus throughout Spanish society.