ERC and Basque party EH Bildu combine “efforts” for a common stance after election

"We are contemplating all those possibilities that make us much stronger" - Esquerra official

Arnaldo Otegi, left, leader of the EH Bildu party, with Marta Rovira, right, general secretary of Esquerra Republicana
Arnaldo Otegi, left, leader of the EH Bildu party, with Marta Rovira, right, general secretary of Esquerra Republicana / ACN

ACN | Barcelona

April 20, 2019 10:44 AM

Pro-independence Esquerra Republicana (ERC) and Basque pro-independence party EH Bildu have met to give continuity to the permanent collaboration after the general election.

A first meeting to discuss the potential political landscape after April 28 between ERC official Marta Rovira and EH Bildu leader Arnaldo Otegi have helped the Catalan and Basque parties find common ground.

The directorates of the two parties met on Friday in Switzerland, where Marta Rovira resides after fleeing Catalonia to avoid persecution after the 2017 independence referendum. The parties have agreed to "join forces" in the post-28-A scenario.

In statements to the ACN from the Swiss city, Rovira explained that ERC and EH Bildu already have a "very common" position in "fundamental questions" and that they will continue working so that the citizens of Catalonia and the Basque Country can "vote to decide their political future" through a referendum and "overcome the regime of 78."

"It is about defending against Madrid, but also in Brussels, that this goes from freedom and civil and political rights," he said.