Analysis: Basques choose non-violence

Defeated and defaced: Jaime Mayor Oreja

By Flora Botsford in Bilbao

The result of the Basque regional election was a resounding victory for the moderate national party, the PNV, which won 33 seats in the 75-member Basque parliament - just five short of an absolute majority.

Ibarretxe: Vote for enthusiasm and peace

It was an emotional moment for the current Basque President, Juan Jose Ibarretxe, who had faced a strong challenge from Madrid-based parties, determined to push the nationalists from office.

"We have opened the door to enthusiasm, to hope, we have also opened the door to peace," Mr Ibarretxe said.

Throughout the campaign, the party had called for dialogue, and had accused the conservative Popular Party in Madrid of "sowing the seeds of confrontation" in the Basque region.

Real competition

It was a disappointing result for the Madrid government, however, which had hoped to see its candidate, Jaime Mayor Oreja, taking over the reins of power.

Instead, he conceded victory, and welcomed the fact that the extremists had been routed.

Euskal Herritarrok, the party closest to ETA, lost seven of its 14 seats - its worst-ever showing, after more than a year of violence.

"Euskal Herritarrok lost almost half their votes to the PNV (Basque Nationalist Party)," said Mr Mayor Oreja.

"This means direct support for terrorism in the Basque country is down by half, and if that is the case, it is because for the first time in the lifetime of Basque democracy, there has been an alternative, there has been real competition."

Coalition prospects

Now the task for the PNV is to form a government, which without an absolute majority, is going to be difficult.

I am sceptical about the ability of ETA to perceive a message from the outside world

Inigo Gurruchuga

The party, which has been in power for more than 20 years, has always relied on partnerships, and says this will be no exception.

However, it has vowed never again to rely on the support of Euskal Herritarrok and those who justify violence as a means towards Basque independence.

Inigo Gurruchaga, a journalist for one of the main regional newspapers, El Correo, told the BBC that the PNV was most likely to form a coalition with the Spanish Socialist Party (PSE), which won 16 seats, after a long period of negotiations.

Peace movement

He said such a coalition would bode well for dialogue, because it would not be possible in the absence of a wider agreement among parliamentary parties to make a "joint movement for peace".

Mr Gurruchaga said he thought the most politically-minded members of ETA would conclude from the election results that they were going nowhere with their campaign of "random killings".

However, he also said he was sceptical about the ability of ETA as a whole to hear and understand messages from the "outside world".