Bildu wants to mimic Catalan sovereignty strategy in Basque Country

After witnessing the massive turnout last week in Catalonia in support of an independence referendum, Bildu — the radical left coalition which governs in about a hundred Basque municipalities — on Sunday put forward a similarly tailored sovereignty drive for the Basque Country region.

At a presentation, members of the coalition presented what they are dubbing la vía vasca (the Basque way), a strategy that would employ all the regional parties, social organizations and community leaders to come up with a plan to push for a referendum. The massive human chain formed on September 11 by Catalans who wish to hold a sovereignty referendum in their region was officially called the Via Catalana.

Bildu, which also governs the provincial administrator's office in Gipuzkoa, knows that the ruling Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), which only holds 27 of the 75 seats in the regional parliament, may have to seek the coalition's support if it wants to pass a budget law.

Bildu believes that this is the moment for a plan of action — even if it doesn't have the support of the Spanish or French governments — but it may be able to count on the PNV and the regional Socialist party (PSE) in its drive.