Socialist Party of the Basque Country – Basque Country Left

Socialist Party of the Basque Country – Basque Country Left Partido Socialista de Euskadi – Euskadiko Ezkerra

Leader	Idoia Mendia
Founded	1977 (1977)
Headquarters	c/ Alameda de Rekalde 27, 4ª planta 48009 Bilbao
Ideology	Social democracy
Political position	Centre-left
National affiliation	Spanish Socialist Workers' Party
European affiliation	Party of European Socialists
International affiliation	Socialist International
European Parliament group	Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats
Colours	Red, White
Basque Parliament	16 / 75
Website
www.socialistasvascos.com
Politics of Basque Country

The Socialist Party of the Basque Country – Basque Country Left (Basque: Euskadiko Alderdi Sozialista – Euskadiko Ezkerra, Spanish: Partido Socialista de Euskadi – Euskadiko Ezkerra, PSE-EE) is a social-democratic^[1] political party in the Basque country that acts as the regional affiliate of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). Although local Socialist groups had been active since 1886, and many affiliated with the PSOE (being Biscay one of the strongholds of Spanish social democracy, along with Madrid and Asturias), the PSE was actually established as a branch of the main party only in 1977, during the Spanish transition to democracy.

PSE-EE offices have been targeted by undercover attackers, like this one in Bilbao.

During the violent years of the 1980s in the Basque Country, mid- and high-ranking party officials held government positions in Spain and the region, as civil governors. The Basque nationalist left—Herri Batasuna and related groups—denounced during that period the collusion of the party with police abuses—especially pointing to the Guardia Civil—and in early 1984 blamed directly the Socialists for the state terrorism of the GAL death squads (1984-1987).^[2]

In early 1990s some of them were convicted for their participation in it.^[3] Ricardo Damborenea, head of the party in Biscay, even confessed in a press release to his involvement in the criminal pursuit in the early 1990s. All of them have been released from prison much earlier than their due term without apologising for their illegal actions; Damborenea currently gets a substantial monthly allowance from the Spanish state.^[4]

It has local associations in Gipuzkoa, Biscay, and Álava. Before June 1982, it also included a Navarre branch - which formed the Socialist Party of Navarre, PSN (PSOE).

Initially in a close alliance with the Basque Country Left (EE), a party connected with Basque nationalism, begun in 1991 with a move promoted by the respective secretaries - Ramón Jáuregui for the PSE and Mario Onaindia for the EE. It aimed to become the major Basque force in the 1993 election. The fusion of the two groups was made possible by the split of Basque Left from EE: prepared by the leadership of Nicolás Redondo Terreros (1998–2002), it was confirmed with the mandate of Patxi López in 2002.

During the 2012 elections to the parliament of the Basque Autonomous Community, the PSE-EE came up third in number of MPs (16), lagging behind the Basque Nationalist Party and EH Bildu. Throughout its recent history, it fluctuated between second and third, depending on the success of the People's Party or the Abertzale Left).

Election results

Basque Parliament

Election	Seats	+/−	Votes	%	Outcome	Leader
1980	9 / 60		130,221	14.2 (#3)	Minor Opposition	Txiki Benegas
1984	19 / 75	10	247,786	23.0 (#2)	First Opposition	Txiki Benegas
1986	19 / 75	±0	252,233	22.0 (#2)	Junior in coalition (w. PNV)	Txiki Benegas
1990	16 / 75	3	202,736	19.8 (#2)	First Opposition	Ramón Jáuregui
1994	12 / 75	4	174,682	16.8 (#2)	Junior in coalition (w. PNV and EA)	Ramón Jáuregui
1998	14 / 75	2	220,052	17.4 (#4)	Minor Opposition	Nicolás Redondo
2001	13 / 75	1	253,195	17.8 (#3)	Minor Opposition	Nicolás Redondo
2005	18 / 75	5	274,546	22.5 (#2)	First Opposition	Patxi López
2009	25 / 75	7	318,112	30.4 (#2)	Minority Government	Patxi López
2012	16 / 75	9	212,809	18.9 (#3)	Minor Opposition	Patxi López

Congress of Deputies

Election	Seats	+/−	Votes	%
1977	7 / 21		267,897	26.5 (#2)
1979	5 / 21	2	190,235	19.0 (#2)
1982	8 / 21	3	348,620	29.2 (#2)
1986	7 / 21	1	287,918	26.3 (#2)
1989	6 / 21	1	233,650	21.1 (#2)
1993	7 / 19	1	293,442	24.5 (#1)
1996	5 / 19	2	298,499	23.7 (#2)
2000	4 / 19	1	266,583	23.3 (#3)
2004	7 / 19	3	339,751	27.2 (#2)
2008	9 / 18	2	430,690	38.1 (#1)
2011	4 / 18	5	255,013	21.6 (#3)
2015	3 / 18	1	161,466	13.3 (#4)

External links

Official website

References

↑ Gabriel Gatti; Ignacio Irazuzta; Iñaki Martínez de Albeniz (1 January 2005). Basque Society: Structures, Institutions, and Contemporary Life. University of Nevada Press. pp. 177–. ISBN 978-1-877802-25-6.
↑ "Dirigentes de Herri Batasuna relacionan a altos funcionarios policiales con los GAL". El País. 4 January 1984.
↑ "Juicio por el secuestro de Segundo Marey". El Mundo.
↑ "Más de 2,5 millones al año en pensiones y complementos". Público. 9 September 2011.

Spanish Socialist Workers' Party

Secretary Generals of the PSOE	Pablo Iglesias (1879–1925) Julián Besteiro (1925–1931) Francisco Largo Caballero (1931–1935) Ramón Gómez Peña (1935–1948) José Gómez Osorio (1939–1940) Sócrates Gómez (1940–1944) Juan Gómez Egido (1944) Eduardo Villegas (1944–1946) Miguel Ángel Martínez (1946 – 1965) Antonio Trigo Mairal (1948–1949) Antonio Hernández Vizcaíno (1949–1952) Tomás Centeno (1952–1953) Teodomiro Menéndez (1953–1954) José María Fernández (1953–1954) Rodolfo Llopis (1954–1972) Felipe González (1972–1997) Joaquín Almunia (1997–2000) José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (2000–2012) Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba (2012–2014) Pedro Sánchez (2014–present)

Presidents of the PSOE	Pablo Iglesias (1879–1925) Julián Besteiro (1925–1931) Francisco Largo Caballero (1931–1935) Indalecio Prieto (1935–1948) Trifón Gómez (1948–1955) Pascual Tomás (1964–1967) Ramón Rubial (1967–1970; 1976–1999) Manuel Chaves (2000–2012) José Antonio Griñán (2012–2014) Micaela Navarro (2014–present)

Parties by autonomous community	Andalusia Aragon Asturias Balearic Islands Basque Country Canary Islands Cantabria Castile-La Mancha Castile and Leon Catalonia Extremadura Galicia La Rioja Madrid Murcia Navarre Valencian Community

Congresses	1888 1890 1892 1894 1899 1902 1905 1908 1912 1915 1918 1919 1920 1921 1925 1932 1944 1946 1948 1948 XVII 1952 XIX XX XXI 1964 1967 1970 1972 1974 1976 May 1979 Sep 1979 1981 1984 1988 1990 1994 1997 2000 2004 2008 2012 2014 2016

Afiliated Organisations	Socialist Youth of Spain IDEAS Foundation for progress El Socialista Socialist Left

Political parties in the Basque Country

Represented in the Basque Parliament (75)	Basque Nationalist Party (27) Euskal Herria Bildu (21) Socialist Party of the Basque Country – Basque Country Left (16) People's Party (10) Union, Progress and Democracy (1)

Represented in the Spanish Congress of Deputies (18)	Amaiur (6) Basque Nationalist Party (5) Socialist Party of the Basque Country – Basque Country Left (4) People's Party (3)

Represented in the Spanish Senate (15)	Basque Nationalist Party (5) People's Party (4) Amaiur (3) Socialist Party of the Basque Country – Basque Country Left (3)

Politics portal List of political parties Politics of Basque Country List of political parties in Spain

Political parties in Spain

Congress of Deputies (350)	People's Party (123) Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (90) Podemos (69) Ciudadanos (40) Popular Unity (2) Republican Left of Catalonia (9) Democracy and Freedom (8) Basque Nationalist Party (6) EH Bildu (2) Canarian Coalition (1)

Senate (266)	People's Party (145) Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (67) Podemos (23) Democracy and Freedom (8) Republican Left of Catalonia (8) Basque Nationalist Party (7) Ciudadanos (3) Canarian Coalition (2) Euskal Herria Bildu (1) Geroa Bai (1) Gomera Socialist Group (1)

Other parties in regional parliaments	Aragonese Party Aragonese Union Asturias Forum Compromís Galician Left Alternative Galician Nationalist Bloc Leonese People's Union More for Majorca Navarrese People's Union Popular Unity Candidates Proposal for the Islands Regionalist Party of Cantabria Union, Progress and Democracy

European Parliament (54 of 751)	People's Party (EPP, 16) Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (S&D, 14) Izquierda Plural (United Left (4) and ANOVA (1): GUE/NGL, 5 - Initiative for Catalonia Greens (1): Greens/EFA, 1) Podemos (GUE/NGL, 5) Union, Progress and Democracy (ALDE, 4) Ciudadanos (ALDE, 2) Coalition for Europe (CDC (1) and PNV (1): ALDE, 2 - UDC (1): EPP, 1) L'Esquerra pel Dret a Decidir (Greens/EFA, 2) The Peoples Decide (GUE/NGL, 1) European Spring (Greens/EFA, 1)

Politics portal List of political parties Politics of Spain

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