Normal politics or the end of Spain? Sortu ruling polarizes opinion

The decision of the Constitutional Court to legalize Basque abertzale nationalist grouping Sortu has been greeted with a mixture of cautious optimism and outright hostility. Wednesday's ruling, which was decided by a single vote in the country's highest court, overturned a Supreme Court ruling of last year banning Sortu from standing in elections after it was viewed as a continuation of Batasuna, the former political wing of ETA that was outlawed in 2003. The Constitutional Court based its decision on the grounds that Sortu is a new grouping created by the abertzale left that has rejected violence and terrorism in favor of a political solution to the question of Basque home rule.

A similar decision to legalize Bildu, an abertzale party formed from the remnants of Batasuna, is believed to have brought about the unilateral ceasefire announced by ETA last year. The coalition's success in the May 22 local elections of 2011, where it achieved the best results in abertzale history, with 25 percent of the vote in the Basque region, played a large part in persuading ETA leaders that the peaceful path to sovereignty was more effective than violence.

Many political parties in the Basque Country called for the immediate release of Arnaldo Otegi, the former Batasuna leader, and seven others convicted in 2011 of attempting to re-form the outlawed party. The so-called "Bateragune" case was viewed as an ETA-guided attempt to regroup its political wing under a new guise. Otegi, who was sentenced to 10 years by the High Court for belonging to an armed group and attempting to rebuild an outlawed party, denied that he and his co-defendants were behind the formation of Bateragune. Basque regional premier Patxi López described the sentence as "out of step with the times."

The Basque Nationalist Party spokesman in the regional assembly, Joseba Egibar, on Thursday said it was "absurd" for Otegi and his colleagues to remain in prison after they had spearheaded a line of political negotiation toward the end of ETA.

Now it has to complete its journey of integration into democracy, with all its consequences"

After the ruling, López led calls for the abertzale to bring about the definitive end of ETA's 43-year existence. "Now it has to complete its journey of integration into democracy, with all its consequences," the Socialist leader said. "Now they must practice politics, not the victim mentality they have displayed until now."

Among Sortu's own ranks there was a sense of vindication after repeated overtures to the legal authorities to recognize the legitimacy of its new political framework. Abertzale spokesman Iñigo Iruin said Sortu's statutes and its rejection of violence marked a "point of no return" for the nationalist left. "This will contribute to the normalization that the majority of Basque society demands."

The Popular Party (PP) was vehement in its opposition to the decision. "The Constitutional Court ruling is, in my opinion, a step further toward the breaking up of Spanish territory," said Juan Cotino, the speaker of the Valencia regional parliament.

PP secretary general María Dolores de Cospedal stated that "the vast majority of democrats are saddened and disappointed" by a ruling she said she respected but "absolutely" did not agree with.

By far the harshest criticism came from Madrid regional premier Esperanza Aguirre, who called for the Constitutional Court - "full of politicians who like to be called magistrates but are not" - to be relegated to a branch of the Supreme Court. "What a coincidence that [ruling magistrate Elisa] Pérez Vera is the same magistrate who was speaker in the ruling on the Catalan Statute and the legalization of Bildu. It's a disgrace."