The relations between PNV and PSOE are going through one of their moments of greatest friction in recent months. The immediate trigger has been the controversy over a meme spread by Basque socialists about Aitor Esteban and the unease generated after the PNV's abstention on the decree for the extension of rents, but the clash also refers to disagreements that had been going on for some time.
The crisis has been visualized in an unusual public clash between two partners with a long tradition of understanding, to the point of provoking political gestures of cooling and moves to de-escalate tension.
Beyond the specific episode, the conflict has reopened questions about the state of the relationship between both formations at a particularly sensitive moment both in Madrid and in Euskadi.
The trigger: the swimming pool meme
The episode that has precipitated the crisis has been a publication by the PSE-EE with an image generated by artificial intelligence of Aitor Esteban jumping into a pool, in reference to statements by the jeltzale leader that there was “water in the pool” to advance in a new political status.
The image provoked an immediate reaction from the PNV, which described it as "indecent", in an expression used publicly by the party, and abruptly raised the tension between partners.
The discontent reached the point of affecting planned political contacts and forcing moves to try to redirect the situation.
But the clash is not explained solely by that controversy. The abstention of the PNV in the vote on the decree on rent extensions had already added tension to the relationship.
From the Basque party that position was defended for reasons linked to legal certainty and to their disagreement with the approach of the measure, marking distances with respect to the Government in a politically sensitive vote. That move was read as another symptom of cooling and ended up adding to a crisis that ended up exploding publicly.
Tensions that came from before
The current conflict also has a prior background. Among the issues that had been generating friction are differences regarding the new Basque status and disagreements on issues related to the Basque language.
They are issues that were present before the social media episode and that help explain why a seemingly isolated controversy has escalated so quickly.
Another element that appears in the reading of the conflict is the political context in Euskadi, with the competition of the PNV with EH Bildu and the hardening of positions in some debates. That scenario adds pressure to the relationship between jeltzales and socialists and complicates the balances inherent in a government alliance.