Briefing
Pamplona, 31 August 2026 – At the event marking the start of the political year in Pamplona, Arnaldo Otegi, Secretary General of Euskal Herria Bildu, described as a priority the task of pushing back a right-wing bloc that he called “reactionary”. Otegi explicitly named the party Vox and its leader Santiago Abascal as well as a possible rapprochement between Partido Popular and Vox, which he polemically dubbed “FeiVox”.
Otegi warned that the election cycles ahead, through to 2027, could, in his view, risk bringing the far right to power in Madrid or Paris; he did not name specific election dates. He called for a “progressive bloc” to remain capable of winning majorities in Spain and France, and stressed that Euskal Herria Bildu prioritised the national interest over purely party-political positions.
The term “FeiVox” is Otegi’s partisan label, used to criticise a possible coordination or tactical closeness between the Partido Popular under Alberto Núñez Feijóo and Vox. In fact, majorities or confidence arrangements between the PP and Vox have occasionally been agreed at regional and municipal level in Spain; at the time of the speech, there was no formal national coalition.
Otegi made clear that his party would explore the room for manoeuvre available to it to prevent, in its view, a change to a right-wing government; in Pamplona, however, he announced no specific parliamentary steps or coalition agreements.
The event in Pamplona served to mobilise politically after the summer break and sent a signal in Navarra about Euskal Herria Bildu’s strategic direction for the remainder of the electoral cycle. Whether and how the party turns this priority into specific voting decisions, offers to negotiate or regional strategies in Navarra, the Basque Country and at state level remains open and, according to Otegi, depends on how the electoral calendar unfolds.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).