Spanish voters rejected violence on both ends of the political spectrum last weekend. In parliamentary elections in the Basque region, the moderate Basque Nationalist Party was the big winner. The party, which already heads the regional government, has vowed to fight for independence through legal means.
The Basque Nationalist Party and its coalition partner, Eusko Alkartasuna, won 33 seats, a gain of six from the last legislature. The Popular Party, which heads Spain's government, won 19 seats, and the Socialists claimed 13 more. While they increased their representation by two seats, they did not win a majority, which would have given them a mandate to crack down on separatists who have killed more than 800 people in a 33-year fight for independence, 30 since a ceasefire ended in December 1999.
Euskal Herritarrok, the party that is linked to the terrorists known as the ETA, paid for voter anger at the violence. Their representation in the 75-seat Parliament was cut in half, from 14 seats to seven.