Basque region to swear in its first non-nationalist government in three decades

The Basque region of Spain is to swear in its first non-nationalist government in three decades. The Socialist Party (PSE) and the centre-right Popular Party (PP) agreed last week to govern together after Basque nationalists failed to win an absolute majority in an election in March. Security in the Basque capital Vitoria is tight, as Eta separatists have threatened the incoming government. For three decades following the restoration of democracy in Spain in the 1970s, Basque voters always returned governments led by the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV). The party's defeat in March enabled the PSE, which came second, and the PP to lay aside their disagreements at national level. Their deal will mean that the Basque region will be run by a government which fully supports it remaining part of Spain for the first time in 30 years.